9 


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International  ^butation  Smm 

EDITED   BY 

WILLIAM  T.  HARRIS,  A.M.,  LL.  D. 


Volume  XLIV 


V 


INTERNATIONAL  EDUCATION  SERIES 


FKIEDRICH   FROEBEL'S 

EDUCATIOISr 
BY  DEVELOPMENT 


THE  SECOND   PART   OF  THE 
PEDAGOGICS  OF  THE  KINDERGARTEN 


TRANSLATED   BY 

JOSEPHINE  JAEVIS 


NEW    YORK 
D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

1899 


;r3 


JT^ 


Copyright,  1899, 
By  D.   APPLETON  AND  COMPANY. 


7^  (^2-^ 


Electrotyped  and  Printed 

AT  THE  APPLETON  PrESS,  U.  S.  A. 


?  THE  '^ 

UNIVERSITY 

EDITOE'S  PREFACE. 


In  the  former  volume  *  nearly  one  half  of  the 
essays  brought  together  by  Wiehard  Lange  in  a 
volume  entitled  The  Pedagogics  of  the  Kinder- 
garten have  already  been  printed,  in  Miss  Jarvis's 
translation.  Those  essays  relate  more  especially 
to  the  plays  and  gai^es^  although  in  several  articles 
the  gifts  are  discussed  with  some  degree  of  thorough- 
ness. In  the  present  volume  the  educational  prin- 
ciples underlying  the  gifts  are  more  thoroughly 
discussed.  Again  and  again  in  the  various  essays 
Froebel  goes  over  his  theory  of  the  meaning  of  the 
ball,  the  sphere,  the  cube,  and  its  various  sub- 
divisions. The  student  of  Proebel  has  great  advan- 
tage, therefore,  in  reading  this  volume,  inasmuch 
as  Froebel  has  cast  new  light  on  his  thought  in  each 
separate  exposition  that  he  has  made.  Sometimes 
the  briefest  mention  may  prove  the  most  illuminat- 

*  No.  XXX  of  the  International  Educational  Series. 

v 


VI  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ing,  and  certainly  every  brief  summary  helps  to 
understand  the  extended  treatise. 

Froebel  proceeds  from  the  solid  to  the  surface 
through  tablets  and  stick-laying,  and  finally  reaches 
drawing.  He  returns  to  the  solid  through  paper 
folding  and  the  constructing  of  outlines  of  the  regu- 
lar solids  by  means  of  sticks  joined  by  means  of 
soaked  peas. 

The  essays  on  the  training  school  for  kinder- 
gartners  and  the  method  of  introducing  children's 
gardens  into  the  kindergarten  are  very  suggestive 
and  useful.  In  fact,  there  is  no  other  kindergarten 
literature  that  is  quite  equal  in  value  to  the  contents 
of  this  present  volume.  The  remaining  essays  in 
Lange's  volume  not  yet  translated  are  mostly  of  an 
ephemeral  character,  treating  of  occasions  like  the 
play  festival  at  Altenstein  (No.  29),  a  speech  at  the 
opening  of  the  first  kindergarten  in  Hamburg  (No. 
28),  a  sketch  of  the  constitution  of  a  proposed  educa- 
tional society  (ISTo.  25),  and  two  other  papers  of  like 
character  (Nos.  23  and  24). 

"With  the  publication  of  the  present  volume  a 
complete  list  of  the  original  works  of  Froebel  in 
English  translation  has  been  provided  in  this  series, 
namely: 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE.  Vll 

Froebers  Education  of  Man,  Vol.  V. 

The  Mottoes  and  Commentaries  of  Mother- 
Play,  Vol.  XXXI. 

The  Songs  and  Music  of  the  Mother-Play,  Vol. 
XXXII. 

The  Pedagogics  of  the  Kindergarten,  Vols. 
XXX  and  XLIV. 

Besides  these,  the  series  furnishes  other  helpful 
volumes  for  the  understanding  of  Froebel,  namely: 

Miss  Blow's  Symbolic  Education,  Vol.  XXVI, 
and  Letters  to  a  Mother,  Vol.  XLV. 

Mr.  Hughes's  FroebePs  Educational  Laws,  Vol. 

XLI. 

W.  T.  Harris. 

Washington,  D.  C,  January  14, 1899. 

v^  OF  THK  r 

UNIVERSITY 


CONTENTS. 


o/ 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I. — The   spirit  of  that   training  of  the   human 

BEING  WHICH  EDUCATES  BY  DEVELOPING  DEMON- 
STRATED BY  THE  WAY  IN  WHICH  LiNA  LEARNED 
TO   READ 1 

II. — The  child's  love  of  drawing      ....      55 
III. — Guide  to  paper-folding 89 

IV.-^TICK-LAYING 118 

i  '"VW-FrOEBEL'S  FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  EDUCA- 
TION, HIS  MEANS  AND  MODES  OF  EDUCATION  AS 
WELL  AS  EDUCATIONAL  AIM  AND  OBJECT,  IN 
\  RELATION  TO  THE  TENDENCIES  AND  REQUIRE- 
MENTS OF  THE  TIME — REPRESENTED  BY  HIM- 
SELF         161 

VI. — The  father's  cradle  song 215 

VII. — The  children's  gardens  in  the  kindergartners  217 

VIII. — Training  school  for  kindergartners        .        .  228 
IX. — Address    by   Froebel    before    the  Queen   of 

Saxony 241 

X. — The  connecting  school 268 

XL — Compendious  description  of  the  kindergarten 

gifts  and  occupations 306 

ix 


\ 


T*  OF  THE  '^ 

UNIVERSITY 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE    CONTENTS  BY  THE 
TRANSLATOR 

I.  Spirit  of  Education  by  Development :  (p.  1)  Froebel  requested 
to  make  an  understandable  written  statement  of  his  system,  and  its 
means,  methods,  objects,  and  aim ;  his  attempt  to  do  so  not  quite 
satisfactory ;  his  desire  to  find  cause  of  failure ;  (2)  verbal  state- 
ments understood,  recognized  as  true,  and  partially  carried  out ; 
cause  of  misapprehension ;  verbal  statements  accompanied  by  an 
object ;  foundation  of  his  educational  whole  ;  (3)  object  connected 
with  explanation ;  How  Lina  Learns  to  Eead ;  (4)  significance  of 
child's  impulse  to  learn  to  write  and  read  ;  child  feels  itself  a  part- 
whole  ;  (5)  good  results  of  education  depend  on  this  feeling ;  (6)  it 
is  the  starting-point  of  the  kindergarten  ;  how  awakened  ;  writing 
and  reading  a  connecting  bond ;  (7)  connects  the  single  with  the 
general;  letter- writing ;  (8)  answers  to  questions  about  life  and 
education ;  (9)  total  result ;  Pestalozzi  and  Froebel  compared  ;  all- 
sided  life-union ;  (10)  aim  and  goal ;  evils  of  overleaping  inter- 
mediate steps ;  (11)  means  of  avoiding  this  error ;  (12)  Lina's 
mother  our  teacher ;  direct  natural  attraction  ;  (13)  means  provided 
suited  to  child's  powers ;  (14)  teaching  founded  on  Lina's  wish ; 
(15)  developed  from  her  feeling  of  personality  ;  (16)  problem  of  de- 
veloping education  solved ;  (17)  error  in  education  ;  foundation  of 
developing  education  ;  (19)  child's  personality  a  means  of  percep- 
tion ;  (20)  series  of  development  repeated ;  (21)  nature  of  Creator 
made  known  by  creation ;  (22)  development  implies  something  to 
develop ;  what  ?  (23)  education  must  be  faithful  to  laws  of  develop- 
ment; what  are  they?  Lina's  mother  answers;  (24)  consequence 
of  child's  feeling  itself  a  part- whole ;  what  has  a  developing  influ- 
ence also  a  part-whole ;  what  is  to  be  developed  in  child  ?  (25)  what 
are  the  laws  of  development  ?  how  God  revealed  his  nature ;  (26) 
the  creation  to  manifest  the  divine ;  impulse  and  attraction ; 
child's  impulse  to  represent  his  own  nature ;   education  a  part- 

xi 


xii  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

whole  ;  consequence  of  this ;  (27)  effect  of  misconceptions  on  educa- 
tion ;  Nature  a  touchstone ;  Nature  and  the  free  spirit ;  means  of 
criticism  ;  (28)  why  laws  of  Nature  and  the  spirit  explain  one  an- 
other ;  the  touchstone  for  developing  education  ;  (29)  touchstone  of 
correct  following  of  training ;  (30)  mother  complies  with  Lina's 
wish  to  learn  to  write  ;  first  step  ;  second  step  ;  (31)  what  is  speak- 
ing ?  the  word  ?  third  step  ;  secret  ot  developing  education  ;  law  of 
connection  ;  (32)  training  continued  ;  child  led  to  find  out  different 
sounds ;  (33)  man  connects  Creator  and  creation ;  language,  man, 
and  things  ;  elements  of  speech  also  connections ;  law  of  connection 
essential ;  (34)  and  practical ;  (35)  nature  of  education  by  develop- 
ment ;  what  and  how  to  develop ;  (36)  means  of  testing  laws  of 
education  ;  law  of  opposites  ;  (37)  what  can  be  done  by  means  of 
law  of  connection?  four  answers;  fifth,  education  suited  to  the 
time ;  (38)  sixth,  with  what  education  is  connected ;  seventh,  to 
what  it  corresponds  ;  it  unifies  ;  (39)  eighth,  law  of  the  triune  life  ; 
ninth,  how  developing  education  is  suited  to  the  time ;  (40-41) 
personality  the  point  of  germination  of  developing  education  ;  (42) 
starting-point  Tor  all  education ;  this  point  resembles  a  seed ;  it 
constitutes  the  nature  of  developing  education  ;  (43)  unity  and  uni- 
versality opposites ;  (44)  effect  of  closely  uniting  them ;  union  of 
opposites  made  objective  ;  effect  of  name  ;  (45-46)  aim  of  develop- 
ing education  ;  of  the  kindergarten  ;  germinating  point  recognized ; 
(47)  the  other  developing  laws  follow ;  fact  in  back-ground  of 
mother's  management ;  law  of  the  original  unit ;  lies  in  man  ; 
divineness  of  his  nature  ;  (48)  means  of  testing  named  ;  education 
a  science  ;  an  art ;  a  living  fact ;  (49)  how  to  obtain  all  this  by  de- 
veloping education  ;  practical  understanding  ;  education  a  finished 
whole  ;  how  to  apply  in  developing  education  the  laws  before  ex- 
plained ;  (50)  the  particular  conditioned  by  the  general ;  child  in 
combination  with  the  great  life- whole  ;  each  of  its  actions  not  iso- 
lated ;  (51)  three  purposes  of  education ;  meaning  of  all  done  by 
and  with  child  ;  first  attention  to  him  linked  with  development  of 
his  limbs,  etc.  ;  (52)  he  strives  for  free  use  of  his  members ;  his 

(imitation  promoted  by  the  mother ;  activity  of  limbs,  etc. ;  (53) 
effect  of  word  heightened  by  rhythm  and  tone  ;  Mother-Play  and 
Nursery  Songs ;  (54-55)  a  test  of  this  book. 

II.  Man  a  Creative  Being :  (p.  56)  man  in  interdependence  with 
Nature  ;  what  this  view  gives  to  education  ;  (57)  how  God  reveals 
himself ;  how  man  makes  known  his  being ;  man  determined  to 
create  ;  (58)  a  young  child's  spontaneous  expressions  of  life  ;  child  a 
creative  being ;  therefore  related  to  his  Creator ;  (59)  reason  for  his 


ANALYSIS  OF  THITCONTENTS.  xiii 

activity ;  he  invests  with  life  all  he  sees  ;  (60)  more  proofs  that  he 
is  related  to  God  ;  his  desire  for  representing  ;  how  he  shows  his 
creative  power ;  (61)  first  object  of  his  tendency  to  activity ;  char- 
acter of  his  other  first  playthings ;  use  of  these  a  proof  of  his 
creative  impulse  ;  his  efibrts  to  draw  important ;  in  second  or  third 
year,  bulky  solids  replaced  by  other  things ;  (62)  these  things 
named ;  child's  creative  representations  advance  as  his  means  of 
play  become  less  material ;  (63)  illustrations ;  what  man  recognizes 
in  and  by  the  spirit ;  efiect  of  fostering  child's  creative  power ;  (64) 
child's  desire  for  typical  representation  ;  object  of  first  part  of  this 
chapter;  foundation  of  child's  activity  up  to  his  seventh  year; 
(65)  upon  what  his  action  depends ;  his  slight  power  no  obstruc- 
tion to  his  impulse  toward  creative  activity  ;  his  efibrt  to  strengthen 
this  impulse  not  to  be  disturbed  ;  (66)  he  seeks  material  with  which 
to  gratify  it ;  outward  fostering  of  this  impulse  indispensable ; 
parents  to  give  their  children  what  Nature  gives  hers ;  (67)  why 
painting  and  drawing  attract  the  child ;  his  choice  of  material 
shows  him  in  harmony  with  Nature's  doings ;  (68)  child's  efibrts 
to  prove  he  is  a  creative  being  are  sacred ;  he  thus  shows  himself 
also  a  member  of  the  great  whole  ;  what  he  is  destined  to  do  ;  (69) 
why  he  proves  himself  a  creating  being,  especially  by  his  drawing ; 
development  of  child's  power  of  drawing  essential  to  developing 
education ;  (70)  effect  of  omitting  drawing ;  development  of  child 
produced  by  his  drawing ;  (71)  what  it  requires  from  him ;  its  im- 
portance ;  (72)  what  it  makes  possible;  symmetrical  development 
required ;  effect  of  a  free  position  of  child's  body ;  fostering  of  feel- 
ing of  pleasantness ;  (73)  also  of  that  of  the  right  essential  to  culti- 
vation of  child  as  a  creative  being  ;  character  of  the  drawing ;  (74) 
sequence  of  lines  drawn;  drawing  of  lines  connected  with  the 
movements  of  the  limbs;  (75)  reasons  for  connecting  word  and 
deed ;  illustrated  by  the  drawing ;  the  way  lines  originate  to  be  con- 
sidered; (76)  effect  of  adding  the  loving  tone  to  the  word ;  lines, 
material  for  representation  ;  illustrations ;  (77)  child  tries  to  draw 
a  house ;  demands  upon  him  made  by  such  drawing ;  (78)  the  eye 
a  measure ;  drawing  in  the  network;  (79)  the  shortest  line  the 
measure ;  longest  line  five  times  as  long  as  shortest ;  how  to  make 
the  network;  (80)  distance  of  parallel  lines  from  one  another; 
conscious  drawing  begins  with  the  straight  line  ;  sequence  of  such 
lines ;  more  directions  ;  effect  of  the  network  ;  (81)  way  to  make 
child  conscious  of  what  he  has  done  ;  observant  action  the  expres- 
sion of  child's  activity ;  (82)  drawing  conditioned  in  his  nature; 
to  what  this  first  drawing  leads ;  laws  of  formation  ;  next  require- 


xiv  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ment ;  (83)  effect  of  employing  the  rule  experienced  by  child ;  laws 
of  formation  now  shown,  higher  than  those  before  stated ;  each 
form  suggests  the  next ;  capacities  aroused  in  child  by  his  desire 
for  signs ;  how  he  feels  the  growth  of  his  creative  power ;  (84)  to 
what  use  he  turns  the  law  of  development ;  inventiveness  a  proof 
of  creative  power ;  what  child  learns  by  looking  at  objects ;  the 
progress  he  has  made  at  this  stage  ;  (85)  effect  on  him  of  drawing 
simple  lines ;  (86)  how  to  develop  his  power  of  creating  by  draw- 
ing ;  the  most  important  result  of  drawing ;  child's  conscious  ad- 
vance from  the  straight  to  the  curved  line ;  round  and  straight 
compared  ;  (87)  what  child  represents  by  the  drawing  ;  why  he  is 
set  in  the  midst  of  the  life-whole  ;  (88)  first  condition  for  his  de- 
velopment ;  his  cultivation  for  creative  drawing ;  point  of  refer- 
ence of  true  education ;  kindergarten  leads  to  this ;  nature  of 
kindergarten. 

III.  Paper  Folding :  (p.  89)  what  it  is ;  beneficent  property  of 
paper  folding  ;  (90)  A,  guide  to  means  of  employment  in  general ; 
means  of  development  conditioned  in  child's  nature  ;  (91)  develop- 
ment and  employment  connected ;  third  to  sixth  gifts ;  tablets ; 
what  they  form ;  (92)  for  what  they  are  adapted  ;  sticks  ;  their  use  ; 
(peas  work)  ;  interlacing  ;  jointed  slat ;  (93)  intertwining  ;  weav- 
ing ;  dividing  and  recombining  material ;  form  changed,  quantity 
unaltered ;  modeling  ;  folding  ;  (94)  thread  game  ;  cutting ;  (95) 
what  this  review  shows ;  (96)  from  what  paper  folding  proceeds  ; 
square  preferred  to  triangle ;  B,  paper  folding  a  means  of  em- 
ployment ;  how  the  square  may  be  made ;  what  the  results  of 
this  work  should  show ;  squares  formed  from  rectangles  ;  (98) 
reader  to  do  the  work  ;  (98-99)  directions  ;  (100)  squares  material 
for  folding  ;  development  of  forms  ;  children  make  their  own 
squares ;  aim  of  folding ;  geometric  surfaces  named  according  to 
the  number  of  their  sides,  etc.  ;  (101)  directions  for  fundamental 
forms;  law  at  the  foundation  of  all  education;  (102)  directions; 
child  to  do  and  hear;  (103)  why;  perceptions  of  form  and  size 
gained  by  the  folding  ;  examples  ;  (104)  this  is  play  to  the  child  ; 
double  meaning  of  phrase  "right  angle"  ;  facts  cleared  by  repeti- 
tion ;  (105)  from  what  the  eighth  [geometric]  perception  proceeds  ; 
fact  stated  in  the  opposite  way;  (106)  more  perceptions;  (107) 
more  directions;  (108)  perceptions;  (109)  twofold  meaning  of 
"right  angle"  ;  (110)  the  right  angle  a  measure  of  angles  ;  a  per- 
ception ;  child  perceives  many  facts ;  eye  and  mind  developed  ; 
(111)  directions  ;  double  truth  derived  from  results  of  folding ; 
what  doing  the  thing  proves ;  a  perception  twice  shown  ;  (112)  di- 


ANALYSIS   OF  THE  CONTENTS.  XV 

rections ;  (113)  perceptions ;  concluding  statement;  (114)  opposite 
square  ;  perceptions  ;  kindergartner  gives  the  word  for  child's  per- 
ception ;  (115)  concluding  directions ;  (116-117)  final  perceptions. 

IV.  Stick  Laying  :  (p.  118)  the  whole  of  plays  and  occupations 
not  arbitrarily  originated ;  by  what  called  ;  how  grown ;  what  it 
is ;  what  comes  from  it ;  (119)  developing  education  the  funda- 
mental effort  at  present ;  stage  of  child's  development  required  for 
stick  laying;  (120)  result  of  bringing  it  forward  too  soon ;  from 
what  the  sticks  proceed;  (121)  tablets  split  into  sticks;  effect; 
later  develops  from  earlier ;  development  of  sticks  in  play-whole  ; 

(122)  from  what  the  sticks,  etc.,  result ;  three  principal  directions ; 

(123)  how  they  appear  in  ball,  etc.  ;  sticks  a  means  of  cultivation  ; 
ball  compared  to  the  germ  of  a  tree  ;  (124)  to  a  flower  bud  ;  what 
this  is  to  show  ;  importance  of  early  leading  the  child  into  the  link- 
ings  of  life;  (125-126)  stage  of  cultivation  required  for  use  of 
sticks;  (127-128)  what  is  gained  by  this  presentation  of  the  stick 
play ;  (129)  connecting  laws  united  in  the  stick  ;  it  has  the  essen- 
tial properties  of  all  objects  ;  (130)  its  relations  to  other  objects  ;  its 
possible  positions  ;  cause  of  its  charm  for  the  child  ;  (131)  what  it 
is  for  him ;  author  and  reader  enter  a  kindergarten ;  number  of 
children  there  ;  their  greeting  ;  that  of  kindergartner  ;  (132)  Froe- 
bel's  answer ;  her  apology  for  the  simplicity  of  the  intended  stick- 
play  ;  the  manifold  goes  forth  from  the  simple  ;  illustration  ;  (133) 
questions  about  shape  and  position  of  stick  asked  and  answered ; 
it  is  compared  with  other  objects ;  (134)  she  gives  each  child  a  stick  ; 
tells  what  her  own  is  like,  and  lays  it  on  table  ;  each  child  does  the 
same;  she  repeats  the  names  given  to  the  sticks;  (136)  children 
show  where  each  imagined  object  is  ;  what  the  children  do  and  say 
proves  that  manifoldness  proceeds  from  the  single  ;  the  children's 
joyousness;  (137)  their  mutual  sympathy;  effect;  farewell  song; 
what  Froebel  learned  in  the  kindergarten;  (138)  permission  to 
come  again  ;  reader's  desire  to  return  shows  interest  in  the  subject ; 
(139)  he  has  thought  of  it  constantly  since  visiting  the  kindergar- 
ten; Froebel's  experience  similar;  (140)  sticks  compared  to  mag- 
net; (141)  attraction  of  each  part  of  the  play- whole  explained; 
(142)  effect  of  inner  power  abiding  in  Nature  ;  (143)  innermost  na- 
ture of  relation  between  kindergartner  and  children  ;  author  and 
reader  enter  the  kindergarten  ;  sticks  again  ;  attention  song  ;  each 
child  has  one  stick  ;  (144)  is  given  another ;  effect  of  visitors  join- 
ing in  the  play ;  influence  of  the  invisible  ;  (145)  no  activity  with- 
out effect  in  the  kindergarten  ;  result  of  kindergarten  fostering ; 
children  name  their  stick  forms;  reasons  for  laying  the  forms 

2 


XVI  EDUCATION  BY  PEVELOPMENT. 

on  tlie  table;  (146)  kindergartner  makes  angles  by  beckoning; 
(147)  three  kinds  of  angles ;  their  names  ;  children  make  angles  by 
beckoning  ;  kindergartner  lays  angles  with  sticks ;  children  do  the 
same  ;  (148)  angle  song  ;  other  stick  forms  ;  visitors  asked  to  test 
kindergartner' s  knowledge;  (149)  they  do  so;  she  names  kinds  of 
angles  in  some  of  the  stick  forms  ;  elasticity  play  with  sticks  ;  re- 
sult of  play  rhymed  ;  (150)  play  repeated  ;  vertical  and  horizontal 
illustrated  by  steel  yard  made  with  sticks ;  the  use  of  former  gifts 
gave  knowledge  of  angles ;  why  ways  are  given  for  gaining  this 
knowledge  by  stick-laying  ;  (151)  everything  in  a  double  relation 
to  the  child  ;  reason  why  kindergarten  material  satisfies  the  child  ; 
(152)  recognition  of  inner  phenomena  shows  the  true  nature  of  kin- 
dergarten ;  simple  material  best  liked  ;  deeper  insight  into  rela- 
tions between  child  and  material  required  ;  (153)  advice  to  mothers, 
etc.  ;  (154)  reader  derived  benefit  from  the  kindergarten ;  inner 
connection  of  forms  made  by  the  children  ;  (155)  what  these  forms 
show;  that  which  is  invisible  yet  perceptible;  (156)  visitors  look 
at  children's  stick  forms  ;  children  name  forms ;  different  names 
for  the  same  form ;  (157)  why  allow  children  to  make  forms  not 
much  like  the  real  objects  ;  kindergartner  counts  forms  ;  children 
look  closely  at  them ;  sticks  taken  up ;  each  child  remakes  what 
forms  it  can  remember  ;  (158)  effect  of  this  ;  aim  of  kindergarten  ; 
(159)  connecting  power  in  children's  minds  differs ;  objects  made 
are  named  by  kindergartner  in  a  stick  story ;  effect  of  such  story 
telling;  (160)  harmony  originated  in  youth,  re-presented  in  later 
life  ;  farewell  to  the  children  ;  taking  up  the  sticks,  a  reward  ; 
farewell  song. 

V.  Principles  of  Education  :  (p.  161)  man  drawn  to  observe  the 
phenomena  and  facts  of  his  own  time  ;  attention  to  its  character ; 
a  view  of  the  whole  ;  education  characterizes  the  time  ;  (162)  cause 
of  this ;  periodicity  recurs  with  humanity  viewed  as  a  whole  ;  a  pe- 
riod of  development  begins  now ;  neglect  to  give  it  special  atten- 
tion;  (163)  this  neglect  explained  by  analogy  ;  neglect  of  develop- 
ment has  painful  results  ;  how  the  understanding  of  life  is  cleared  ; 
in  what  it  expresses  itself ;  man's  whole  life  one  of  education  ;  by 
what  does  the  present  time  prove  itself  a  time  of  education?  (164) 
facts  on  which  the  answer  to  this  question  rests  ;  (165)  universality 
and  consciousness  of  endeavors  required  ;  both  present  in  this  period 
of  time  ;  individual  requirements  of  this  period  ;  (166)  first  demand 
which  characterizes  the  time  as  educational ;  to  what  it  appertains ; 
(167)  to  what  pressure  toward  self-comprehension  has  given  rise ; 
man's  effort  to  raise  to  consciousness  his  tendency  to  activity ;  man 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CONTENTS.  xvii 

thinking,  feeling,  and  acting;  second  demand;  (168)  the  mother 
to  be  first  raised  to  recognition  of  her  dignity,  etc. ;  third  and 
fourth  demands ;  (169)  fifth  and  sixth  demands;  relation  of  espe- 
cial to  general  most  important ;  to  what  it  leads ;  (170)  the  State  an 
educational  institution  ;  seventh  and  eighth,  by  what  and  why  the 
present  time  is  characterized  as  educational ;  (171)  thought  and  idea 
afford  what  life  and  man  require  ;  how  onward  development  of  the 
individual  as  a  part- whole  is  obtained ;  keystone  of  the  whole — 
ninth;  (172)  in  what  man's  vocation  lies;  effect;  these  strivings 
the  most  essential  of  the  new  period  of  life  ;  all  are  present  at  the 
same  time;  (173)  all  must  be  fulfilled  at  the  same  time  ;  this  prob- 
lem to  be  solved  in  the  same  way  as  a  gardener  educates  his  plants ; 
from  what  this  manner  of  treating  the  child  proceeds  ;  (174)  two 
facts  derived  from  observation  of  life ;  these  facts  give  two  of  the 
maxims  on  which  true  education  is  founded  ;  third  maxim  ;  (175) 
what  these  two  limitations  give  as  a  product ;  fourth  law  of  educa- 
tion ;  those  who  acknowledge  the  truth  of  these  principles  must  be- 
gin to  carry  them  out ;  woman's  instinct  to  be  raised  to  conscious- 
ness ;  (176)  women  the  first  trainers  of  the  human  being ;  man  has 
no  less  part  in  this  training ;  this  co-operation  to  begin  in  child- 
hood ;  why ;  humanity  composed  of  opposites ;  child  to  be  treated 
in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  this  system  ;  (177)  where  the  source 
of  genuine  development  is ;  when  and  how  it  finds  nourishment ; 
how  nurses  quiet  a  young  child;  how  child  lulls  itself;  (178)"^ 
rhythm  and  song  connected  with  child's  expressions  of  life  ;  so  they  | 
belong  to  a  healthy  education  of  man ;  effect  of  song  on  child ;  J 
Mother  Play  and  Nursery  Songs  mostly  accompanied  by  song ;  ef- 
fect ;  singing  tone  added  to  word ;  (179)  with  such  development, 
child  needs  an  object  by  which  to  develop  himself;  human  being's 
nature  requires  a  counterpart;  effect  of  not  providing  one;  (180) 
whither  the  images  of  fancy  lead ;  what  kind  of  object  to  provide 
for  child's  activity ;  what  he  chooses ;  what  girls  like  ;  (181)  why ; 
weight  the  first  expression  of  attraction  ;  what  the  object  must  be  ; 
(182)  why  ball  is  best  liked  ;  (183)  play  engendered  by  the  opposite 
like  ;  (184)  how  ball  can  be  used  ;  in  what  form  and  relations  ;  (185) 
ball  an  all-sided  means  of  development ;  child  seeks  for  plurality ; 
human  gardener  to  bring  to  unfolding  child's  longing  for  plural- 
ity ;  why ;  child  seeks  in  plurality  the  connecting  unity ;  this  is 
given  by  the  colors  of  the  balls ;  (186)  how  different  number  and 
like  form,  size,  etc.,  of  ball  increase  with  child's  increasing  age ; 
(187)  fact  that  ball  is  child's  true  first  plaything  disputed  ;  proofs 
of  fact ;  (188)  ball  a  means  of  moral  preservation  ;  (189)  what  child's 


xviu  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

activity  proves  ;  sphere  the  opposite  like  of  ball,  and  so  child's  next 
plaything ;  it  is  compared  with  ball ;  (190)  progress  in  material  in  ac- 
cordance with  Nature  ;  meaning  of  last  phrase  ;  the  germ  of  the  later 
must  lie  in  the  earlier;  (191)  requirements  of  education  explain 
one  another ;  this  proves  the  truth  of  the  whole ;  sphere  not  to 
supplant  ball ;  each  gift  extends  the  use  of  the  preceding  one ; 
(192)  use  of  sphere  has  much  in  common  with  ball  play;  how 
sphere  may  be  moved  by  string  ;  each  plaything  a  whole  ;  each  has 
its  task  to  do  in  child's  education;  task  of  sphere ;  why  we  need 
clear  perceptions  of  unity  in  life  ;  (193)  effect  of  leading  the  child 
to  this  ;  proof  of  the  divine  in  life  ;  how  sphere  is  to  benefit  child  ; 
effect  of  rhymed  song  in  child's  education ;  (194)  effect  of  using 
white  and  black  spheres  ;  next  plaything  must  be  a  contrast  to  the 
sphere  ;  (195)  cube  the  third  plaything  ;  its  contrasts  to  the  sphere  ; 
law  of  connection  approached  with  ball ;  (196)  it  now  shows  itself 
to  be  a  law  of  life ;  for  what  it  is  later  essential ;  how  it  is  to  be 
brought  to  child's  notice  ;  another  respect  in  which  the  perception 
of  such  a  law  is  important ;  (197)  what  we,  as  true  educators,  must 
give  again ;  why ;  return  to  cube ;  to  what  it  leads  by  its  form ; 
how  it  may  be  introduced;  (198)  form,  etc.,  important;  also  the 
sure  gaze  ;  why  and  how  the  child  should  be  early  introduced  into 
the  perception  of  form,  etc. ;  cube  leads  to  relations  of  number ; 
(199)  third  way  of  viewing  the  cube  ;  why  it  is  especially  suited  for 
play ;  man  born  for  research ;  to  what  cube  leads  and  introduces 
the  child  ;  (200)  with  what  his  delight  in  the  object  of  play  is  con- 
nected ;  what  takes  place  within  him  is  developed  during  the  play ; 
kind  of  plaything  which  the  child  likes  best;  (201)  what  gives 
value  to  the  representation  plays  ;  what  they  are  ;  these  represen- 
tations a  whole,  though  incomplete ;  how  to  complete  it ;  value  of 
modes  of  play,  etc.,  here  demonstrated ;  (202)  reasons  for  this 
value  ;  the  peace  which  Jesus  left  must  become  a  fact ;  what  he  said 
must  be  true  ;  (203)  these  remarks  applied  to  child  life  ;  what  has 
been  said  about  the  cube,  the  keystone  to  the  kindergarten  system  ; 
law  of  connection  the  most  important  law  of  the  universe  ;  child  to 
be  treated  in  accordance  with  the  highest  laws  of  life  ;  child  is  life  ; 
his  plays,  etc.,  represent  life  ;  (204)  cylinder  the  connection  between 
cube  and  sphere,  and  fifth  object  of  play ;  child  life  proves  the  truth 
of  this  last ;  (205)  requirements  followed  in  the  choice  of  these 
three  early  playthings  give  the  same  result ;  what  experience 
proves  with  regard  to  them  ;  by  what  the  use  of  the  cylinder  is  de- 
termined ;  sphere,  cylinder,  and  cube,  a  whole ;  what  they  form ; 
they  point  toward  the  phenomena  of  art  life  ;  example  ;  (206)  tri- 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CONTENTS.  XIX 

partite  character  of  the  columnar  orders ;  purpose  of  bringing  out 
this  fact  here;  (207)  what  must  be  done  if  human  beings  are  to 
unite  in  truth ;  spirit  of  union  compared  to  the  sun ;  (208)  how  to 
gain  all-sided  life  union ;  we  must  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  nature 
of  our  subject  before  we  can  safely  go  on ;  the  object  of  play  was 
always  a  whole ;  three  objects  considered  as  wholes,  form  another 
whole  ;  (209)  they  are  therefore  part- wholes ;  the  property  of  being 
a  part- whole,  important  for  the  child ;  he  can  not  too  early  be  led 
to  observe  it ;  this  is  done  by  next  plaything ;  instinct  of  mother 
and  that  of  child  lead  to  this ;  child  desires  a  separable  whole  ;  the 
next  gift  is  a  cube  divided  into  eight  equal  cubes ;  (210)  knowledge 
of  cube  form  important  for  life ;  illustrations ;  (211)  the  attraction 
these  eight  cubes  have  for  children  proved  by  experience ;  (212)  a 
few  lines  will  serve  for  guidance  to  those  who  are  urged  by  deep 
earnestness  to  test  all  that  is  revealed  for  child's  education  ;  separa- 
tion requisite  for  the  observing  intellect  and  the  outwardly  repre- 
senting life  ;  apparent  separation  is  inner  union  ;  why  the  man  can 
not  learn  to  live  in  life  ;  (213)  the  comprehension  of  the  original 
unit  fostered  and  observed  in  the  child's  life  in  the  way  of  educat- 
ing children  which  lies  before  us ;  the  second  and  third  gifts  fulfill 
this  requirement  perfectly,  yet  meet  with  the  most  hostility ;  what 
proves  that  they  develop  child  life  most  judiciously ;  the  most  strik- 
ing proof  of  the  comprehensiveness  of  this  genuine  training  ;  (214) 
answer  to  the  reproach  that  children  are  earnest  in  kindergarten ; 
why  children  should  rejoice  over  Froebel's  plays. 

VI.  The  Father's  Cradle  Song  (p.  215) ;  (216)  song  concluded. 

VII.  The  Children's  Garden  in  the  Kindergarten  :  (p.  217)  ac- 
quaintance with  Nature  the  sure  foundation  of  successful  educa- 
tion;  Nature  the  direct  manifestation  in  action  of  God;  Nature's 
growth  and  development  to  be  compared  with  man's;  (218)  the 
child  to  have  opportunity  for  this  comparison  in  the  children's 
garden  ;  why  the  kindergarten  requires  a  garden  ;  child  to  prove 
himself  by  action  an  indvidual  member  of  a  greater  life;  (219)  the 
children's  beds  in  their  garden  to  be  surrounded  by  the  garden  of 
the  whole  ;  aim  of  children's  garden  ;  child  compares  the  plants  in 
it ;  (219-221)  suggestions  for  its  general  arrangement ;  (221-226)  par- 
ticular arrangement ;  (226)  retroactive  efiect  and  influence  on  the 
child  of  such  fostering  of  plants ;  (227)  even  the  tending  of  a  win- 
dow garden  benefits  the  child. 

VIII.  Plan  for  Training  School  :  (p.  228)  what  kindergartens 
are ;  1,  general  aim  of  the  institution  ;  (229)  2,  aim  of  the  institu- 
tion in  particular ;  (230)  3,  forming  plays  for  the  designated  aim  ; 


XX      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

(231)  4,  age  of  those  who  enter ;  5,  stage  of  cultivation  of  those  who 
enter  ;  (232)  6,  duration  of  the  training  course ;  7,  the  attainment 
of  the  aim  of  cultivation  ;  (233-235)  8,  division  of  time  during  the 
training  course ;  (236-238)  9,  a  few  more  essential  particulars  and 
the  keystone  of  the  training  course  ;  (238)  10,  outside  conditions  of 
entrance  ;  11,  beginning  of  the  course  ;  (239-240)  12,  concluding  re- 
marks ;  (240)  13,  reference. 

IX.  Address  in  Dresden  :  (p.  242)  in  Nature,  all  is  in  that  inner 
coherence  which  leads  to  God  ;  facts  of  Nature  and  life  demonstrate 
this  ;  in  Nature,  the  manifestation  of  God,  all  is  intuition  and  life  ; 
this  coherence  deeply  grounded ;  (243)  what  living  in  this  coher- 
ence gives  man ;  since  those  highest  ideas  of  life  are  represented  in 
Nature,  should  not  man  strive  to  live  in,  and  to  lead  the  children 
into,  harmony  with  this  coherence?  (244)  what  the  earnestness  of 
this  question  caused  Froebel  to  do  ;  if  there  is  coherence  in  Nature 
and  life,  each  individual  must  be  a  whole  and  a  part  of  a  whole ; 
(245)  why  child  is  such  a  part- whole  ;  how  is  he  to  rise  to  the  antic- 
ipation, etc.,  of  this  coherence?  how  he  should  be  treated  from  the 
first ;  he  is  in  coherence  with  God,  Nature,  and  humanity  ;  errors 
in  regard  to  this  threefold  comprehension  of  child  injure  his  un- 
folding ;  this  triune  conception  of  child,  our  first  problem  ;  second, 
to  what  he  is  to  be  led  ;  (246)  what  the  foundation  of  all  develop- 
ment is ;  child's  life  expresses  itself  by  activity  ;  point  at  which  a 
satisfactory  education  begins ;  activity  threefold ;  in  what  it  ap- 
pears ;  child's  life  to  be  treated  according  to  this  triplicity  ;  Nature 
leads  child  to  this ;  apple  a  part- whole ;  (247)  Nature  too  near  to 
and  too  far  from  the  human  being  ;  a  connecting  third  needed  ; 
ball  fulfills  the  conditions  of  this  third  ;  to  what  it  corresponds  ; 
how ;  (248)  ball  the  representative  of  all  which  exists  ;  foundation 
of  ball's  connecting  child  and  Nature  ;  what  man  must  do  to  under- 
stand Nature  ;  Froebel' s  plays  a  means  of  introduction  into  Nature  ; 
ball  unites  opposites  in  itself ;  it  is  an  introduction  into  the  knowl- 
edge of  Nature  and  man  ;  (249)  it  is  a  mirror  of  all ;  what  this  inti- 
mation about  ball's  nature  justifies ;  the  inflexible  proceeds  from 
the  movable  ;  sphere  and  cube  come  from  ball ;  (250)  what  sphere 
and  cube  show ;  three  principal  directions  in  sphere  and  ball  the 
key  to  recognition  of  every  form,  etc.  ;  three  activities  in  each  ob- 
ject ;  importance  of  this  observation  of  a  coherent  three  ;  (251)  the 
ends  of  the  three  principal  directions  are  surfaces  in  cube  ;  cube's 
surfaces  and  corners  postulated  in  its  interior ;  all  directions  alike 
in  size  in  sphere  and  ball,  different  in  cube  ;  (252)  it  makes  its  in- 
side externally  visible ;  what  the  outside  of  the  sphere  is  ;  the  great 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CONTENTS.  XXI 

law  of  Nature  and  life  ;  why  it  is  important  to  express  this  law  ; 
the  highest  aim  of  man's  activity ;  (253)  child  to  be  guided  to  this 
in  his  play  ;  ball  the  means  of  introduction  into  the  general,  cube 
into  the  particular ;  illustration  ;  (254)  child-fostering,  the  repre- 
sentation of  knowledge  of  Nature  ;  why  child  thankfully  recognizes 
such  fostering;  why  retain  for  recognition  the  fountain,  etc.,  of 
the  phenomena  of  life  ;  aim  of  consideration  of  Nature  and  genuine 
child-fostering  ;  (255)  object  of  giving  sphere  and  cube  to  child  as  the 
next  plaything  ;  each  of  these  subjects  important  for  the  fostering 
of  child's  life  ;  indivisibility  requires  the  divided  ;  child  shows  this ; 
(256)  requisites  for  next  plaything  met  by  third  gift ;  attention 
given  to  the  eighth  part-cubes  ;  opposites  to  appear  united  ;  the  one- 
sided a  development  of  all-sidedness  ;  how  does  the  third  gift  cor- 
respond to  child's  nature  ;  (257)  tendency  of  intelligence  and  heart 
in  early  and  later  life  compared  ;  form  which  can  be  separated  and 
united  is  demanded  by  life  and  furnished  by  the  divided  cube ; 
this  makes  it  possible  to  comprehend  the  child  as  feeling,  thinking, 
and  creating ;  forms  which  can  be  made  with  third  gift  are  either 
those  of  knowledge,  of  beauty,  or  of  life  ;  (258)  to  what  this  corre- 
sponds ;  the  three  principal  directions  in  sphere  and  cube  com- 
pared ;  (259)  these  directions  to  become  abiding  and  different ;  how 
this  is  done  ;  effect  of  this  division  on  formation  ;  forms  made  with 
fourth  gift  are  of  the  same  kinds  as  those  of  the  third  ;  (260)  how 
each  series  is  extended  ;  effect  of  having  the  three  directions  differ 
in  size  in  the  building  stones  ;  child  impressed  by  what  he  can  do 
with  these  small  means  ;  deduction ;  (261)  effect  of  such  impres- 
sions ;  each  form  admits  of  several  perceptions ;  why  these  observa- 
tions are  important  for  the  child  ;  effect  of  these  plays  ;  (262)  gen- 
eral law  exemplified  ;  this  law  as  important  as  its  opposite  ;  child 
led  by  Nature  and  play  to  recognize  it  ;  what  he  perceives  and  to 
what  he  is  led  ;  (263)  why  the  twice  divided  cube  is  the  next 
(fifth)  gift;  difference  of  kind  in  its  parts  as  well  as  increase  in 
their  number  required  ;  how  this  is  done  ;  (264)  con-ect  comprehen- 
sion of  the  right  important  for  the  child  ;  the  former  plays  sought 
to  confirm  Nature's  impressing  of  the  right ;  oblique  and  inclined 
also  important ;  examples ;  to  what  these  plays  train  the  child ; 
what  this  gift  does  ;  (265)  kinds  of  forms  made  with  it ;  these  forms 
compared  with  those  of  the  former  gifts  ;  (266)  Pythagorean  prob- 
lem illustrated  with  this  gift ;  special  importance  of  this  gift  for 
the  child ;  its  opposite  (sixth  gift)  ;  character  of  the  forms  made 
with  the  latter  ;  why  the  demonstration  of  these  plays  closes  here  ; 
what  it  was  possible  for  Froebel  to  do ;  (267)  the  progress  and  con- 


xxii  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

elusion  of  the  whole ;  application  of  these  plays ;  Nature  the  foun- 
dation of  human  education ;  what  would  be  possible  if  Froebel's 
wish  were  fulfilled. 

X.  The  Connecting  School :  (p.  268)  Emma  wants  to  know  how 
to  manage  a  connecting  school ;  different  stages  of  child's  develop- 
ment ;  childhood  separated  into  the  baby  and  family  stages  ;  (269) 
how  child  develops  in  the  latter  ;  kindergarten  the  second  stage  ; 
the  human  training  of  the  kindergarten  ;  here  a  child  comes  to  a 
plurality  of  objects  ;  (270)  what  they  become  to  and  teach  the  child  ; 
third  stage,  connecting  school ;  kindergarten  acquirements ;  the 
training  stage  of  kindergarten  sharply  bounded ;  abstract  knowl- 
edge first  entered  upon  in  connecting  school ;  (271)  name  shows 
nature  ;  it  combines  kindergarten  and  school  for  learning ;  result 
of  kindergarten  ;  with  what  connected  ;  child  comes  to  the  percep- 
tion of  manifoldness  in  unity ;  child  introduced  into  the  science  of 
the  general  and  special  laws  of  life  ;  (272)  why  Emma's  perception 
of  the  stage  of  kindergarten  training  must  be  decided  ;  law  of  devel- 
opment counteracts  impulse  to  destruction  ;  result  of  this  develop- 
ing activity;  to  what  stick  laying,  etc.,  leads;  surface  laying  pre- 
ceded that  of  sticks ;  to  what  the  former  leads ;  what  it  teaches ; 
kindergarten  nature,  etc.,  to  be  reproduced  in  an  organic  manner  ; 
(274)  the  being  right  and  the  whole  kindergarten  based  on  mathe- 
matical proofs  ;  two  more  perceptions  of  life  begin  in  kindergarten  ; 
an  important  fact  in  relation  to  even  and  uneven  numbers ;  where 
number  first  finds  its  true  recognition  ;  (275)  what  feeling  should 
be  strengthened  in  Emma;  what  is  demonstrated  by  "HowLina 
Learns  to  Eead"  ;  efiect  of  clearly  producing  this  subject;  (276) 
what  exercises  belong  in  connecting  school ;  what  completes  kinder- 
garten cultivation ;  (277)  nature  of  kindergarten,  school,  and  con- 
necting school ;  (278)  what  the  latter  forms  ;  comprehension  of  its 
nature,  etc.,  not  easy;  why  ;  length  of  connecting  school  training 
course ;  why  such  schools  are  so  rare ;  with  what  such  a  school 
connects  and  what  it  gives  ;  (279-280)  examples ;  into  what  con- 
necting school  leads;  reference  to  "Education  of  Man,"  etc.  ;  the 
most  important  means  of  passing  from  kindergarten  to  school ; 
(282)  keystone  of  kindergarten  employment ;  box  of  fourteen  solids ; 
such  forms  to  be  made  in  clay,  etc.  ;  use  of  this  box  in  kindergarten  ; 
with  what  education  by  development  begins;  why  complete  de- 
velopment of  limbs,  etc.,  is  needed;  what  the  child  is  to  learn  to 
know ;  why  ball  serves  this  purpose  ;  to  what  it  leads ;  (284)  what 
ball  demands  ;  what  sphere  requires  ;  of  what  sphere  and  cube  are 
the  expression  ;  cylinder  shows  the  connection  between  the  two ; 


ANALYSIS  OP  THE  CONTENTS.  xxm 

employment  with  the  fourteen  solids  is  connected  with  the  second 
gift ;  objects  of  this  gift  the  four  first  solids  ;  (285)  what  these  ob- 
jects have  shown  the  child  ;  inner  law  of  change  results  from  law 
of  connection  ;  where  this  law  came  forth  ;  into  what  contempla- 
tion of  the  fourteen  solids  introduces  the  child  ;  (286-287)  manner 
of  making  the  transition  from  cube  to  octahedron  ;  (288)  transition 
from  cube  to  dodecahedron  ;  their  places  in  the  box ;  (289)  by  what 
the  three  surface  directions  of  the  cube  lead  to  the  sphere  ;  effect  of 
suppressing  corners  ;  places  in  box  of  new  solids  and  their  complet- 
ing forms ;  these  six  new  solids  close  the  course  in  kindergarten  ; 
reverse  course  also  given  there  ;  (291)  outlined  forms  important  at 
the  kindergarten  stage  ;  children  made  the  outlined  square,  etc.  ; 
from  what  the  outlined  cube  results  ;  how  the  next  solid  originates 
within  the  cube ;  the  outlined  octahedron ;  (292)  outlined  tetra- 
hedron ;  all  these  to  be  represented  in  the  cube ;  comparison  of 
these  with  each  other  and  with  the  solids  gives  an  intimation  of 
what?  child  ready  to  enter  connecting  school ;  keystone  of  kinder- 
garten, starting  point  of  connecting  school ;  (293)  list  of  opposites  ; 
child  skilled  in  these  contrasts ;  (294)  they  are  to  be  brought  to  his 
notice  in  sequence  ;  leading  direction  not  lacking ;  germ  for  each 
development  provided ;  connecting  school  develops  child  from 
unconsciousness  to  consciousness  ;  nature  of  connecting  school ;  ex- 
amples ;  (295)  general  result ;  what  determines  the  form  of  a  body ; 
introduction  into  the  science  of  space,  etc.  ;  (296)  with  what  con- 
sideration of  the  fourteen  solids  is  connected ;  analysis  of  cube ; 
instruction  in  number  to  be  carried  from  the  stage  of  perception  to 
that  of  conception  ;  (297)  also  instruction  about  the  form  and  size 
of  solids,  etc. ;  to  what  perception  of  figure  leads ;  consideration  of 
the  outer  world ;  to  what  it  leads ;  (298)  province  of  language ; 
tone  and  rhythm  ;  to  what  song  leads ;  science  of  plants  connected 
with  that  of  the  surface  of  the  earth  ;  illustrations  ;  (299)  helps  in 
geography;  examples;  what  is  connected  with  this;  (300)  why 
observation  of  plants  is  important  for  connecting  school  child ; 
(300-301)  this  importance  shown  by  Bible  texts;  plant  world  im- 
portant to  Germans ;  cultivated  fruit  trees ;  what  they  are ;  (302) 
human  being  to  be  the  same  ;  how  he  can  become  so  ;  from  and 
into  what  he  can  pass  with  this  anticipation ;  what  the  connecting- 
school  teacher  must  have  before  her  eyes ;  it  is  doubtful  if  she  can 
fully  apply  to  her  school  what  has  been  said ;  (303-304)  Froebel 
convinced  of  possibility  of  connecting  school ;  places  in  box  of  the 
fourteen  solids  and  their  completing  forms ;  (305)  into  what  these 
solids  lead  ;  their  principal  divisions. 


XXIV  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

XI.  Kindergarten  Means  of  Employment :  (p.  306)  man  a  sen- 
tient being  ;  with  what  and  by  whom  connected ;  the  child  a  mem- 
ber of  a  family  ;  the  foundation  of  his  development ;  what  position 
he  obtained  by  such  fostering,  etc.  ;  (307)  how  the  mother  appears 
through  such  fostering ;  with  whom  and  what  she  connects  her 
child  ;  how  she  must  act  with  regard  to  all  these  connective  offices  ; 
why  they  are  of  equal  importance  ;  (308)  child  to  develop  himself 
at  a  future  time  ;  how  and  between  what  he  is  to  mediate ;  by 
what  means  he  first  develops  himself;  what  mediation  presup- 
poses ;  (309)  child  and  Nature  opposite  yet  alike ;  child  a  part  of 
Nature ;  how  he  must  develop ;  difference  between  man  and 
Nature  ;  care  for  child's  health  the  first  duty  of  mother  or  nurse  ; 
(310)  when  he  is  healthy ;  why  he  is  given  a  body ;  limbs  and 
senses  are  contrasts ;  so  are  arms  and  legs  ;  (311)  between  what  the 
hands  are  a  connection  ;  to  what  the  senses  correspond  ;  physical 
treatment  of  the  child  ;  what  limbs  and  senses  require  ;  what  to  ob- 
serve in  reference  to  child's  development ;  (312)  development  of 
his  impulse  to  activity  ;  this  impulse  soon  requires  an  object ;  the 
retroactive  effect  on  the  child  a  twofold  one  ;  what  the  first  play- 
thing must  be ;  (313)  these  requirements  met  by  the  ball ;  what 
essential  properties  of  objects  are  represented  by  it ;  of  what  it  is  a 
means  ;  development  produced  by  ball  play ;  (314)  play  with  ball 
as  a  type ;  go  back  to  earliest  childhood  ;  what  child's  increased 
power  requires  ;  the  opposite  of  the  sphere  described  ;  sphere  and 
cube  opposite  yet  alike  ;  (315)  connection  required ;  cylinder  de- 
scribed ;  cone  required  and  described  ;  why  these  four  form  a 
whole  ;  (315-316)  comparison  of  these  solids  ;  (317)  mode  of  play- 
ing with  them  ;  results  of  moving  them  ;  effect  on  child  ;  to  what 
the  play  with  them  leads ;  into  what  it  introduces  the  child  ;  of 
what  these  objects  are  the  source ;  (318)  why  this  gift  has  been 
opposed ;  what  Froebel  considers  it ;  he  offers  to  prove  his  asser- 
tion ;  return  to  development  of  gifts  ;  playthings  hitherto  undi- 
vided ;  child  likes  opposites ;  (319)  why  his  impulse  to  create  • 
must  be  fostered ;  next  plaything  the  divided  cube  ;  how  and  by 
what  required  ;  (320)  by  what  third  gift  plays  are  conditioned  ; 
two  rules  for  its  use  ;  threefold  character  of  forms  made  with  it ; 
what  these  forms  are  called ;  this  distinction  important ;  repre- 
sentations connected  with  word  and  melody  if  possible  ;  (321)  guid- 
ance for  the  use  of  this  gift ;  what  the  three  principal  directions  are 
in  this,  and  what  they  must  be  in  the  next  gift ;  (322 )  how  the  fourth 
gift  results  from  the  third  ;  variety  of  forms  made  with  fourth  gift ; 
forms  also  of  three  kinds  ;  (323)  fifth  gift  compared  with  third  in 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CONTENTS.  xxv 

regard  to  the  oblique  line  of  direction  and  the  number  of  divi- 
sions ;  (324)  forms  made  with  fifth  gift  also  of  three  kinds  ;  their 
effect ;  sixth  gift  parallel  to  fifth  ;  shape  and  number  of  blocks  in 
sixth  gift ;  its  peculiarity  ;  its  likeness  to  the  fifth  gift ;  seventh 
gift  results  from  fifth  ;  (325)  what  all  its  parts  put  together  form  ; 
oblique  surfaced  equal  parts  ;  polyhedrons  represented  as  devel- 
oped from  the  cube  ;  eighth  gift  related  to  seventh  ;  first  series  of 
children's  plays  ;  first  and  second  series  of  children's  playthings; 

(326)  third  and  fourth  series  ;  conception  of  surface  as  independent 
of  the  solid  appears  in  the  last-named  series  ;  four  series  of  tablets ; 

(327)  derivation  of  these  plays  from  the  preceding,  clear  to  the 
thinker  ;  laws  prominent  in  forms  of  beauty  ;  their  starting-point, 
means  of  progress,  and  return  ;  contrasts  developed  from  connec- 
tion ;  (328)  three  kinds  of  forms  made  with  tablets  ;  exercises  in 
color  added ;  division  of  tablets  gives  sticks  ;  these  are  embodied 
lines,  attract  the  child,  and  form  a  new  division  of  the  means  of 
play,  etc.  ;  first  and  second  kinds  of  play  with  them ;  (329)  third 
kind  ;  (330)  stick  plays  train  the  eye  ;  laws  of  development  from 
within  ;  fourth  kind  of  stick  play  ;  (331)  fifth  kind  ;  recapitulation 
of  kinds  of  stick  plays  ;  points  of  connection  for  the  singing  tone, 
etc.  ;  (322)  why  the  leader  of  children  must  have  a  clear  idea  of  all 
this  ;  over  what  this  remark  extends  ;  from  what  points  come  and 
what  they  form  ;  objects  used  to  represent  them  ;  point  of  connec- 
tion for  the  collection  of  natural  products  as  means  of  play ;  (333) 
analysis  of  solid  into  surface,  line,  and  point,  compared  to  the  devel- 
opment of  a  tree  ;  hence  we  must  return  on  our  path  to  the  first 
unity ;  separation  requires  coherence ;  this  is  obtained  by  the 
pricking  ;  materials  described  ;  (334)  connection  of  points  to  lines  ; 
the  pricking  sheet ;  its  peculiarity ;  three  series  of  pricking 
sheets ;  for  what  and  how  the  last  is  a  preparation  ;  letters  con- 
nected with  the  pricking ;  (335)  color  connected  with  pricking ; 
why  the  results  of  the  pricking  should  be  used  as  presents  ;  lines 
combined  to  form  surfaces  and  solids  ;  interlacing  ;  intertwining  ; 
(336)  weaving  ;  how  the  results  of  it  may  be  used  ;  importance  of 
children's  giving  ;  (337)  the  making  of  mats  and  baskets  con- 
nected with  the  weaving  ;  peaswork  used  to  make  surface  forms, 
outlined  solids,  and  furniture,  etc.  ;  (338)  the  development  of 
forms  from  the  preceding  and  finally  from  the  original  form  ;  why 
this  occupation  is  important ;  with  what  the  cutting  from  wood 
of  sleds,  etc.,  is  connected  ;  what  can  be  made  by  these  employ- 
ments; what  results;  (339)  children's  making  presents  ;  combina- 
tion of  surfaces ;  paper  surfaces  folded  into  boxes  ;  how  to  fasten 


xxvi  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  sides ;  (340)  cardboard  modeling  ;  a  new  division  of  children's 
employments ;  form  changed  but  not  quantity ;  thread  lines ; 
stick  lines ;  paper  folding ;  modeling ;  form  changed,  quantity 
diminished ;  cutting  from  squares ;  (341)  the  form  made  with 
straight  lines,  curved  lines,  both  ;  free-hand  cutting  ;  cutting  out ; 
what  unfolding  takes  place  here  ;  child  uses  all  his  powers  ;  why 
the  busying  of  children  at  this  stage  of  development  ends  here  ;  by 
what  this  is  shown ;  (342)  change  of  solids  made  of  soft  material ; 
here  again  is  a  close  ;  the  cutting  of  solids  connected  with  undi- 
vided spheres ;  divided  ones ;  they  are  divided  in  three  ways ; 
(343)  cylinder  divided  in  four  ways ;  cone  also ;  what  proceed  from 
the  connection  of  round  and  straight ;  (344)  provinces  connected 
with  the  modeling;  what  proceeds  from  all  this;  collecting  of 
pebbles,  leaves,  etc. ;  its  effect  on  the  child  ;  to  what  the  collecting 
of  plants,  bugs,  etc.,  leads  ;  effect  of  all  this  on  parents,  etc.  ;  (345) 
children  the  most  enjoyable  playmates  of  a  child  ;  why ;  nature  of 
children's  plays ;  what  the  child  does  by  means  of  them ;  (346) 
aim  of  this  play- whole  ;  what  child  discovers  in  the  plays  ;  their 
effect ;  foundation  of  child's  impulse  to  imitation  ;  (347)  what  are 
revealed  to  the  child  in  the  mirror  of  his  plays. 


EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THAT  TRAINING  OF  THE  HUMAN  BEING 
WHICH  EDUCATES  BY  DEVELOPING,  DEMON- 
STRATED BY  THE  WAY  IN  WHICH  LINA  LEARNED 
TO    READ. 

I  HAVE  often  been  requested  to  give  a  written 
statement  of  the  fundamental  truths  and  principles 
of  my  system  of  fostering  and  training  childhood 
and  youth.  I  have  also  been  asked  to  word  this 
statement  in  such  a  manner  that  it  can  be  easily 
understood.  A  further  request  has  been  made  that 
I  should  include  in  this  statement  an  account  of  the 
means  and  methods,  object  and  aim,  of  this  system 
of  training  which  I  call  an  educational  whole,  that 
educates  by  developing. 

I  have  several  times  attempted  to  meet  this  de- 
mand, which  seemed  to  me  a  just  one;  but  my 
attempt  has  never  given  complete  satisfaction  to 
those  who  desired  the  statement. 

A  man  generally  likes  to  make  himself  intelli- 
gible  concerning  that  which  is  the  business  of  his 


2  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

life,  and  which  lie  has  at  heart,  as  soon  as  it  be- 
comes of  importance  to  the  public.  I  have  there- 
fore tried  to  discover  the  cause  of  this  non-satis- 
faction, especially  as  mj  verbal  communications 
concerning  the  subject  in  question  have  been  under- 
stood by  my  hearers. 

Indeed,  they  have  told  me,  times  without  num- 
ber, that  they  fully  recognized  the  truth  of  my 
statements,  thought  about  them  earnestly,  and  even 
partially  carried  them  into  practice,  though  with 
less  clear  insight,  a  smaller  degree  of  perfection, 
and  less  understanding  of  the  logical  connection. 

Aided  by  such  precise  statements,  I  could  not 
fail  to  find  the  cause  of  misapprehension  in  the 
different  effect  which  a  verbal  communication  has 
as  compared  with  a  written  one.  The  forrner-is 
always  connected  with  an  object  which  brings  me 
and  my  hearers  together,  and  serves  as  a  symbol 
that  helps  them  to  understand  my  statements.  Tor 
the  thought  becomes  perceptible,  and  so  at  once 
full  of  life,  by  the  use  of  such  an  object. 

This  fact  shows  in  a  remarkable  manner  that 
not  only  the  training  and  development  of  children 
and  young  people,  but  that  of  mankind  in  general, 
is  (especially  in  early  life)  connected  not  merely 
with  that  which  is  perceptible,  but  with  that  which 
is,  at  the  same  time,  perceptible  and  symbolic. 
The  educational  whole  here  presented  receives  its 
deep  human   foundation — a  foundation  which   is 


THE  SYMBOLIC.  3 

also  natural  and  all-embracing — from  the  impor- 
tant statement  just  made.  That  is,  the  spirit,  ever- 
lasting but  invisible,  is  made  perceptible  and  rec- 
ognizable by  means  of  the  material  through  the 
sense  (Sinn)  and  the  symbol  (Bild),  through  the 
symbolic  (Sinnbildliche)  as  the  connection  between 
the  spirit  and  the  material. 

'Now,  in  order  to  give  an  intelligible  explana- 
tion resting  upon  this  foundation,  and  which  can 
be  generally  understood  by  the  people,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  find  out  such  a  general  connecting  object — 
such  a  symbol,  as  it  were.  This  object  is  speech 
as  connected  with  visible  signs  (symbols  made  per- 
manent)— it  is  learning  to  write  and  read.  For 
the  ability  to  read  and  write  is  now  universal  (at 
least  in  Germany),  and  therefore  what  is  said  about 
reading  and  writing  must  necessarily  be  univer- 
sally intelligible  to  the  people — at  least  I  believe 
and  hope  so. 

Therefore  I  now  choose  the  presentation  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  ^^  How  Lina  learns  to  write  and 
read,"  ^*  as  the  connecting  and  intermediate  object 
of  contemplation  of  my  present  communication 
about  my  educational  whole.  This  selection  is  the 
more  appropriate  as  the  desire  to  learn  to  read  and 
write  is  a  direction  of  the  awakening  impulse  to- 

*  See  chap,  xv,  Pedagogies  of  the  Kindergarten,  vol,  xxx, 
International  Education  Series. 


4  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ward  employment  and  culture,  which  shows  itself 
quite  early  in  each  German  child.  An  educa- 
tional whole  which  claims  to  be  comprehensive 
and  to  meet  the  needs  of  mankind  in  general  must 
proceed  from  something  which  belongs  to  all  hu- 
manity. I  therefore  begin  the  presentation  of  the 
fundamental  ideas  and  principles  of  this  educa- 
tional whole  with  this  question,  What  is  the  signifi- 
cation of  the  child's  peculiar  impulse  to  learn  to 
write  and  read?  and  what  is  the  general  signifi- 
cance of  this  impulse  in  the  child  and  for  the  child  ? 

It  is,  in  general  (according  to  the  stronger  or 
weaker  feeling  of  personality  attained  by  the  child), 
the  effort  to  busy  itself  in  this  personality  like  the 
observant  adults  around  it;  the  effort  to  prove  that 
it  also  is  a  member  of  the  great  general  life-whole, 
and,  as  far  as  possible,  to  introduce  itself  into  and 
show  itself  in  this  life-whole.  This  same  feeling  '^ 
urges  the  child  on  to  wish  to  help  its  father  (and  J 
still  more  its  mother,  who  more  fully  enters  into 
this  wish)  whenever  circumstances  allow.  This 
feeling  is  twofold,  for  the  little  one  feels  itself  at 
the  same  time  a  self-poised  whole  and  a  part  de- 
pending on  the  great  whole  or  totality  of  life  which 
it  perceives  around  it,  and  which  it  divines  in  itself. 

This  feeling,  or,  in  other  words,  this  presenti- 
ment of  itself  as  a  part-whole,  certainly  does  stir 
in  the  child,  however  slightly.  I  consider  the  ob- 
servation, acknowledgment,  and  fostering  of  this 


' 


UNITY  WITH  THE  WHOLE.  5 

feeling  to  be  the  foundation,  the  starting  point — I 
might  say,  the  germinating  point — the  heart  and 
fountain  of  the  true,  developing,  educating  culti- 
vation of  the  child  and  of  the  human  being;  or, 
to  express  it  generally  and  in  a  single  phrase,  the 
education  of  man  in  general. 

The  good  results  of  all  true  education  depend 
on  the  careful  notice,  fostering,  development, 
strengthening,  and  cultivation  of  this  feeling  on 
the  part  of  the  child  that  he  is  a  whole,  and  yet  also 
a  part  of  all  life;  and  on  the  avoidance  of  every 
violation,  clouding,  disturbance  of  it.  It  is  the 
point  of  union  of  all  things,  and  of  each  thing 
which  is  to  be  attained  through  education.  In- 
deed it,  singly  and  alone,  first  makes  possible  a 
true  human,  all-sided,  life-united  education.  But 
through  it  such  an  education  does  become  possible; 
for  through  it  the  child  recognizes  itself  directly 
in  the  two  relations  of  independence  and  depend- 
ence without  needing  to  be  instructed  by  any  out- 
ward means.  Without  the  direct  recognition  of 
those  relations  there  is  no  genuine  human  educa- 
tion, as,  in  nature,  no  healthy,  complete  develop- 
ment is  possible  without  observation  of  those  two 
relations,  and  without  the  mute,  unconscious  living 
in  accordance  with  these  relations.  The  great,  in- 
visible working  gardener  of  the  universe,  of  na- 
ture, and  of  humanity  shows  us  this  in  the  educa- 
tion of  all  his  children,  as  the  active  plant  gardener 


6  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

does  in  tending  the  smallest  pot  garden.  Therefore 
this  twofold  feeling  or  anticipation  is  the  starting 
point,  the  vital  point  of  the  true  kindergarten.  It 
is  also  the  vital  point  of  the  developing  educational 
training  of  the  child,  of  the  youth,  of  the  human 
being,  and  of  humanity  up  to  all-sided  life-union. 
Such  training,  verified  by  the  kindergarten,  is  the 
all-sufficing  way  leading  at  once  to  completeness;  or 
at  least  preparing  for  the  possibility  of,  and  enter- 
ing upon  the  path  which  leads  to  completeness. 

Through  all  this  the  second  question  obtrudes. 
How  and  through  what  is  this  feeling  awakened 
on  the  part  of  the  child  of  his  twofold  relation  as 
a  part-whole — a  feeling  which  at  first  slumbers 
deeply  within  him,  of  which  so  much  has  been  said, 
and  which  has  been  seen  to  be  so  important. 

This  feeling  is  awakened  by  almost  everything 
that  is  done  for  or  with  the  child.  In  manifold 
ways  he  feels  and  sees  himself  (especially  through 
his  frequent  oppositeness  to  grown-up  people)  as  a 
particular  and  individual  thing  in  contradistinction 
to  the  general  and  collective.  But  this  all-effective 
feeling  is  especially  awakened  when  the  child  is 
encouraged  to  self-activity  and  to  a  developing 
busying  of  himself  while  with  his  parents  (espe- 
cially his  mother),  or  at  least  in  the  company  of  real 
educators.  In  such  company  the  child  soon  feels 
an  invisible  but  uniting  bond,  which  embraces  all 
grown-up  people,  and  even  things.    He  feels  a  bond 


BEADING  AND  WRITING  A  SOCIAL  BOND.      7 

which  surrounds  and  unites  all  things  for  which  he 
asks.  But  besides  that  invisible  bond  he  soon  re- 
marks a  visible  and  still  more  effective  bond  which 
connects  the  farthest  as  well  as  the  nearest.  This; 
is  the  wonderful  art  of  writing  and  reading,  mute 
yet  speaking,  moving  men  in  many  ways,  and 
bringing  to  them  joy  and  sorrow,  pleasure  and  pain, 
laughter  and  weeping. 

Thus  the  perception  of  his  twofold  relation  is 
aroused  in  the  child  by  his  seeing  and  perceiving 
that  writing  and  reading  are  a  means  of  connecting 
the  separate  and  single  with  the  general,  a  means 
of  uniting  the  single  parts  with  each  other.  Letter 
writing  especially  awakens  this  perception  in  the 
child.  What  child  does  not  like  to  write  letters? 
How  often  the  request,  "  Please,  please  give  me 
some  paper,  dear  father  "  (or  "  dear  mother  "),  "  I 
want  to  write  a  letter."  George  is  now  just  three 
years  old.  Some  time  ago  he  sent  to  his  father  the 
scribbled  or  merely  folded  pieces  of  paper  which 
he  imagined  to  be  letters.  "When  his  mother  also 
was  obliged  to  take  a  journey  which  would  keep 
her  away  from  him  for  a  long  while  his  most 
earnest  request  was,  "  Mother,  write  me  a  little  let- 
ter.'' The  kind  mother  agreed  to  do  so,  and  sent 
folded  sheets  like  little  letters,  on  which  the  child's 
fancy  read  what  suited  him  and  what  he  expected, 
as  if  it  were  in  the  letter.  This  actually  took  place. 
Therefore  our  Lina's  desire  in  the  former  chapter, 


8  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

"  Please,  please,  dear  mother,  give  me  some  paper, 
I  will  also  write  a  letter,"  is  in  harmony  with  the 
great  laws  of  development  and  education. 

IsTow,  what  is  symbolically  expressed  in  the  life 
picture  just  brought  forward  as  an  answer  to  the 
questions  before  us  concerning  life  and  education? 

First,  the  child  feels  early  through  his  whole 
being  what  he  is,  and,  through  that  which  comes 
to  pass  around  him  and  exerts  an  influence  as  a 
self-dependent,  individual,  and  separate  being,  and 
as  an  active  member  of  a  great  life-whole,  he  di- 
vines himself  as  a  part-whole. 

Second,  he  feels  in  like  manner  that  he  can 
exist  only  in  this  life-whole;  can  develop  only 
through  this;  can  become  what  he  is  to  be  only 
in  life-union  with  this. 

Third,  therefore  his  desire  and  effort  are  to 
show  himself  as  such  a  part-whole;  he  wishes  and 
begs  to  be  permitted  to  occupy  himself  as  such. 

Fourth,  it  is  thus  the  spirit  of  the  surrounding 
life  which  acts  on  the  slumbering  qualities  and 
capacities  (germs,  heart  centres,  and  starting  points) 
in  the  child,  as  the  sun's  light,  the  earth's  warmth, 
the  materials  of  life  and  nourishment  in  the  air 
and  water  act  in  spring  on  the  seeds,  germs,  and 
sprouts  of  the  plants.  In  the  case  of  Lina  in  our 
little  story  it  is  the  mother's  loving  fostering,  the 
father's  thoughtful  notice,  and  the  uncle's  require- 
ments and  helpful  sympathy. 


THE  CHILD  IN  THE  SOCIAL  WHOLE.  9 

Total  result,  the  child  will  and  must  be  recog- 
nized as  a  member  of  the  great  life-whole.  He  is 
to  be  tended,  developed,  educated,  trained,  and 
treated  as  such  in  all-sided  union  of  life.  His 
wishes  and  expressions,  all  his  indications  of  life, 
point  toward  this  view  of  the  child,  which  is  also 
the  meaning  of  the  wish  "  Teach  me  to  write.'^ 

Reference  has  been  made  to  Pestalozzi's  Influ- 
ence of  the  Home.  He  places  this  influence  at  the 
summit  of  his  educational  means  as  the  first  requi- 
site. My  educational  means  have  been  brought  into 
comparison  with  those  of  Pestalozzi.  Comparisons 
are  always  favorable  to  the  promotion  and  applica- 
tion of  truth.  I  will  therefore  state,  in  respect  to 
the  point  mentioned,  that,  as  Pestalozzi  claims  for 
his  child  the  influence  of  the  home,  so  do  I 
claim  for  mine  the  powerful  might  of  all-sided 
life-union  which  accompanies  it  from  childhood. 
Thus  life-union  consists  of  the  management  of  the 
child  and  the  observation  of  the  human  being  in 
and  according  to  all  the  relations  of  life — to  the 
whole  life-power — following  the  pattern  of  l^ature, 
who  treats  the  smallest  seed  an4  the  least  plant  like 
the  entire  world-process  and  realizes  God's  image  in 
nature. 

I  return  to  our  Lina  and  to  her  learning  to 
read  and  write  in  order  in  this  also  to  perceive 
(symbolically)  what  is  here  stated. 

With  the  feeling  of  the  particular  and  the  gen- 


10      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

eral,  of  the  personal  independence  and  of  the  de- 
pendence on  the  whole,  and  with  the  efforts  thereby 
called  forth  to  give  itself  up  to  this  whole  and  to 
this  general  (as  our  Lina  did  by  writing,  indeed  by 
the  writing  of  a  letter),  the  goal  appears  before  the 
child  at  the  same  time  with  the  wish,  and  is  pos- 
sessed of  attraction  and  charm.  This  is  proved 
by  the  fact  that  the  child  overleaps  all  limitations 
(means,  way,  and  manner)  in  order  to  reach  this 
goal. 

That  man,  in  looking  toward  the  aim  of  his 
wishes  and  desires  and  keeping  it  in  mind,  fre- 
quently overlooks  the  proper  means,  the  right  path 
toward,  and  the  best  manner  of  attaining  this  aim, 
is  a  phenomenon  and  an  experience  proceeding,  in- 
deed, from  the  child  world,  but  confirmed  by  all 
education  of  individuals  as  well  as  of  nations  and 
of  humanity. 

But  this  hurrying  (from  the  germ  to  the  fruit, 
from  the  wish  directly  to  the  fulfillment,  from  the 
desire  to  the  aim,  springing  over  all  the  necessary 
conditions  which  should  be  previously  fulfilled) 
has  had  the  saddest  and  most  pernicious  results  in  I 
life  in  the  education  of  the  individual  as  well  as  i 
in  that  of  whole  communities,  in  the  education  of 
the  nations  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  human  race — 
even  in  that  of  all  humanity.  This  haste  has  had 
such  sad  results  for  the  individual  that  he  could 
not  overcome  them  in  the  whole  course  of  his  life. 


SAD  RESULTS  OF  HASTE.  U 

Yet  we  see  communities,  nations,  the  human  race — 
yes,  all  humanity — up  to  this  instant  suffering  from 
this  single  error,  which,  by  its  pernicious  results, 
inexorably  brings  chastisement  to  man.  This  is 
one  of  the  most  injurious  errors,  if  not  the  most  in- 
jurious one,  in  the  education  of  the  individual  as 
well  as  of  all  men. 

Yet  though  it  is  one  of  the  most  dangerous,  it 
is,  alas,  also  one  of  the  least  clearly  recognized 
errors  in  education.  But  the  means  to  avoid  this 
error  (so  hurtful  in  its  consequences  in  the  educa- 
tion of  children,  of  individual  human  beings,  as 
well  as  of  whole  nations)  are  far  less  recognized 
and  applied.  And  yet  the  means  are  so  simple, 
being  the  opposite  of  the  error — that  is,  stability. 

What  is  it  that  teaches  us  to  know  this  means 
in  its  application,  to  avoid  this  error  in  human  edu- 
cation (when  recognized)  which  leads  to  a  constant 
chronic  disease,  and  is,  at  the  same  time,  so  uni- 
versally extended?  It  is  the  opposite  here  as  al- 
ways which  instructs  us  by  the  connection  it  re- 
quires. Thus  the  opposite  of  human  education, 
which  is  the  constantly  developing  education  of 
Ifature,  teaches  us  to  avoid  this  error.  And  how? 
In  Nature  the  impulse,  the  arousing  and  striving, 
the  goal  or  aim,  are  always  quite  near  to  one  an- 
other."^    The  way  from  the  striving  to  the  nearest 

*  Impulse  and  goal  or  aim  are  opposites.    The  arousing  and 
striving  form  the  connection. — Tr. 


12      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

goal,  from  the  impulse  to  the  nearest  aim,  is  al- 
ways very  short.  For  means  and  aim,  way  and 
goal,  lie  always  very  close  together  in  the  education 
of  Nature;  indeed,  to  the  unpracticed  eye  they 
often  seem  to  coincide. 

Now,  who  teaches  us  to  employ  this  means  of 
constant  development  in  human  education?  Lina's 
mother,  who  herself  follows  thoughtfully  as  well 
as  consciously  the  constantly  developing  education 
of  Nature.  She  shows  us  this  education  in  the  way 
in  which  she  teaches  writing  and  (immediately  con- 
necting its  opposite  with  it)  reading  to  her  little 
daughter  Lina. 

First  of  all,  she  makes  the  child  notice  in  a 
manner  which  is  intelligent  and  capable  of  truth 
that  in  order  to  reach  a  goal  or  attain  an  aim  con- 
ditions must  be  fulfilled,  powers  developed,  and 
means  appropriated,  and  that  the  emploj^ment  of 
these  means  must  be  practiced  beforehand  in  the 
right  way.  All  are  mere  expressions  of  the  mother, 
repeated  and  often  confirmed  to  the  child  by  the 
smallest,  first,  and  best  of  its  own  actions  and 
wishes  (directly  founded  on  fact).  Having  this 
confirmation,  the  child  is  not  relegated  to  a  remote, 
uncertain  future  in  which  the  discovery  is  certain 
to  come  to  it. 

It  is  quite  essential  here  to  notice  that  with  this 
matter  of  direct  natural  attraction,  which  is  so  im- 
portant for  the  child's  life,  the  mother  (or  the  edu- 


LINA'S  METHOD.  13 

cator  in  general)  meets  with  aid  the  endeavors  even 
of  the  smallest  child.  For  with  many  things 
which  move  before  the  child  (for  example,  the  ball 
which  swings  by  a  thread  or  string  to  and  fro  be- 
fore it)  the  child  looks  (not  constantly,  but  for  a 
very  short  time)  at  the  appearance  of  the  swinging 
ball,  but  it  seeks  and  looks  for  the  cause  of  this 
swinging  appearance — for  the  moving  hand.  This 
fact  supplies  the  proof  (even  in  the  smallest  child), 
arouses  and  shows  (even  in  the  child  itself)  the  an- 
ticipation, that  man  is  a  being  who  questions  and 
investigates  the  causes  and  origin  of  appearances 
and  things.  This  fact  is  yet  further  confirmed  by 
several  phenomena  and  facts  of  the  simple  instinc- 
tive acts  of  children,  about  which  I  will  say  more 
by  and  by  when  we  notice  further  these  spontaneous 
actions. 

We  will  now  go  further  in  our  observation  of 
the  thoughtful  way  in  which  Lina's  mother  pro- 
ceeded. We  see  that  her  fostering  motherly  feel- 
ing also  goes  further.  She  not  only  places  means 
and  object,  way  and  aim,  etc.,  as  nearly  as  possible^ 
by  one  another,  but  she  also  makes  the  means  so 
easily  handled,  so  suited  to  the  powers  of  the  child, 
to  its  developing  use  of  limbs  and  senses,  that  the 
employment  of  these  means  gives  the  child  but  i 
little  trouble  (easily  overcome  by  inclination  and 
pleasure),  since  will  and  deed  can  thus  coincide 
directly  in  one  action. 


14:  EDUCATION  BY   DEVELOPMENT. 

All  is  just  as  easy  for  the  child  to  remember 
as  to  do,  because,  according  to  the  already  often- 
mentioned  first  law  of  cultivation  in  nature,  here 
also  in  the  art  of  writing,  as  in  all  art,  the  complet- 
est  opposites  are  to  be  combined  with  one  another 
— the  living,  sounding  word  and  the  dead,  mute 
stick;  the  will  of  the  child  and  the  manageableness 
of  the  stick  which  is  without  will;  the  spirit  and 
the  material. 

The  little  girl,  anticipating  all  this,  although 
as  yet  dimly,  makes  joyously  her  request,  "  Mother, 
teach  it  to  me!  "  • 

But  from  this  request  (after  appropriating  the 
means)  the  little  girl's  gaze— confirming  our  re- 
mark made  above — springs  immediately  to  the  aim, 
the  object.  "  If  any  one  could  only  read  what 
I  write,"  says  the  child  sadly,  having  in  view  only 
the  aim  and  object  of  the  writing.  "  An  experi- 
ment will  test  it,  the  doing  will  show  it,"  answered 
the  mother  simply;  thus  instructing,  educating  the 
child  by  word  and  object,  deed  and  explanation, 
by  neither  alone,  but,  as  before  remarked,  by  the 
opposites  which  are  most  intimately  connected  in 
the  whole  contemplation  and  perception,  where  the 
immaterial  and  material  again  present  themselves 
in  the  recognition  of  what  has  been  done  in  the 
reading  as  in  all  art. 

With  what  does  the  mother  again  connect  her 
instruction  bv  word  and  deed?     Or,  rather,  from 


LINA'S  SELF-ACTIVITY.  15 

what  does  the  mother  derive  her  instruction?  Or,- 
yet  more  precisely,  how  and  from  what  does  she 
develop  the  instruction  desired  by  the  child  herself? 
First  of  all,  she  founds  such  instruction  on  the 
wish  of  the  little  girl,  and  lets  it,  as  it  were,  grow 
out  of  that  wish. 

Even  this  taking  up  and  noticing  the  child's 
wish  by  the  mother  is  very  important  for  answer- 
ing our  question.  Therein  lies  the  imitation  of  the 
above-asserted  constancy  of  Nature  (the  constancy 
of  the  education  of  Nature  in  the  field,  the  prov- 
ince of  human  education  and  for  education).  The 
mother  now  resembles  here  in  her  action  the  sun, 
which  in  spring  awakens  the  slumbering  power  in 
seeds  and  buds,  which  slowly  rousing  further 
nourishes  and  strengthens  itself.  And  so  it  is  to 
be  with  all  human  education. 

Further,  the  mother  develops  this  instruction, 
so  much  desired  by  Lina,  not  only  from  that  which 
is  personally  experienced  by  the  child,  but  also 
from  and  by  means  of  her  own  direct  feeling  of 
personality.  The  mother  connects  her  instructions 
with  that  which  directly  arouses  this  feeling  in  each 
human  being.  She  demands  the  name  of  one  fa- 
miliar and  beloved,  the  name  of  the  father,  lastly 
the  little  girl's  own  name,  and  so  particularly  con- 
nects the  instruction  with  the  child  herself.  She 
develops  from  the  child's  innermost  nature,  thus 
from  the  point,  from  the  fountain  where  desire 


16      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

and  fulfillment  coincide,  from  the  power  of  the 
soul,  in  which  will  and  action  are  one.  Therefore 
the  will  and  deed  of  the  little  girl  are  in  harmony 
with  the  wish  and  the  requirement  of  the  mother. 
For  here  Lina's  mother  has  solved  for  us  clearly 
and  consciously,  and  thus  completely  (as  each 
mother  does  instinctively  with  more  or  less  obscu- 
rity, greater  or  less  imperfection),  the  most  impor- 
tant problem,  the  as  yet  little  recognized  secret  of 
true  developing  education  and  genuine  instruction, 
and  she  has  at  once  practically  applied  this  solution. 
She  has  drawn  out  both  education  and  instruction 
in  all-sided  life-union  from  the  life,  the  impulse, 
the  wish  and  the  will,  the  power  and  the  individ- 
ual activity  of  the  child,  as  well  as  from  the  little 
girl's  self-reliance  and  self-determination,  and  has 
done  this  by  means  of  the  child's  own  action. 
The  mother's  influence  thus  resembles  that  of  the 
spring  sun,  which  by  warmth  awakens  the  life  (the 
impulse,  the  power,  the  self-activity,  and  the  self- 
determination)  in  each  seed  kernel,  arouses  in  it  the 
impulse  to  unfold  according  to  its  natural  capa- 
cities that  which  lies  in  it  by  its  own  activity  and 
all-sided  union  with  Nature.  It  is  enough  to  say 
that  Lina's  mother  has  solved  with  a  word  the 
problem  and  revealed  the  mystery.  She  has 
also  put  the  solution  immediately  into  practice. 
She  has  transformed  the  education  and  instruc- 
tion, which    before    were    foreign    to    the    child, 


SELF-EDUCATION.  17 

into    self-education    and    self-instruction    for    her 
daughter  Lina. 

Lina's  mother  here  solves  with  clearness  and 
precision  the  problem  and  reveals  the  mystery  of 
genuine  education  and  instruction,  since  she  turns 
them   into   self-education   and   self-instruction   for 
her  child.     She  has  previously  shown  the  harm-., 
fulness  of  springing  from  the  wish  to  the  aim  with- 
out  paying  any  attention  to  the  intermediate  links 
and  requirements,  and  by  observing  the  constancy  ' 
in^iie  education  of  ISTature,  has  disclosed  the  means 
for  avoiding  that  harmfulness  in  human  education. 
She  here  shows  us  still  further  another  of  the  great- 
est and  most  injurious  failures  and  wants  of  our 
methods  of  education  and  instruction  up  to  the  pres- 
ent time.      Education   and  instruction,   discipline 
and  school,  seek,  as  a  rule,  the  grounds  for  deter- 
mining their  requirements  and  their  management 
either  wholly  outside  of  the  life  of  the  children  or, 
even  if  within  the  life  of  the  human  being,  yet 
derived  from  a  time  which  is,  in  respect  to  the 
child  (the  little  charge,  the  pupil,  the  scholar),  so 
remote,  so  far  in  the  future,  as  to  have  for  him  no 
power  at  all  of  attraction,  of  arousing,  and  of  devel- 
opment.    That  which  the  child,  the  pupil,  is  to 
do  and  learn  must  proceed  from  its  power  of  will 
and  action  inwardly  united  to  a  doing,  to  a  desire, 
by  means  of  the  direct,  instantaneous  effect  of  the 
total  life  united  in  itself. 


18      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

Certainly  this  is  shown  by  almost  all  our  sub- 
jects of  instruction,  especially  as  applied  to  the  mass 
of  people.  Our  instructions  in  reading  and  writing, 
as  also  in  counting  and  speaking,  arithmetic  and 
language,  are  especially  feeble,  as  they  mostly  be- 
gin with  the  abstract  with  which  instruction  should 
close;  hence  the  few  abiding  results  of  this  instruc- 
tion in  life. 

Therefore  what  is  to  have  true,  abiding  and 
blessing,  instructive  and  formative  effect  on  the 
child  as  pupil  and  scholar,  and  as  a  future  active 
man — viz.,  independent  employment — must  not 
only  be  founded  on  life  as  it  actually  appears,  must 
not  only  be  connected  with  life,  but  must  also  form 
itself  in  harmony  with  the  requirements  of  life,  of 
the  surroundings,  and  of  the  time,  and  with  what 
they  offer.  It  must  especially  have  an  arousing 
and  wakening  effect  on  the  inner  life  of  the  child, 
and  must  thus  spontaneously  germinate  from  that 
life.  This  is  the  nature  of  the  developing  educa- 
tional training  of  man,  to  follow  and  practice 
which  I  regard  as  the  indispensable  demand  of  the 
time  (founded  on  the  laws  of  Nature  and  the  world, 
on  the  necessary  laws  of  all  the  formations  of  life), 
and  the  maintenance  of  which  I  recognize  as  the 
demand  of  life.  I  hold  it  in  its  general  compre- 
hensive application  as  so  highly  important  to  the 
life  of  humanity  and  of  the  nations,  that  its  reali- 
zation and  accomplishment  (in  proportion  to  the 


THE  METHODS  OF  LINA'S   MOTHER.  19 

degree  in  which  it  is  connected  with  simple,  un- 
changeable laws)  should  be  the  task  of  all  educa- 
tors, in  all  relations  of  life,  and  under  all  circum- 
stances. These  methods  of  education  and  training 
the  kindergartens  also  represent  consciously,  and 
true  kindergartners  have  this  object  firmly  in  view, 
carry  it  lovingly  in  their  hearts,  and  strive  for  it 
in  all  that  they  do. 

Let  us  now  further  observe  the  course  of  train- 
ing which  Lina's  mother  followed  and  which  was 
founded  on  what  has  been  before  stated.  Pro- 
ceeding with  womanly  tact  from  that  which  is 
manifoldly  double-sided,  the  name,  the  personality, 
which  unites  in  itself  person  and  thing,  creating 
and  receiving  (writing  and  reading),  self -employ- 
ment and  learning,  etc.,  becomes  again  to  the  child 
in  its  manifold  double-sidedness  a  type  of  herself 
while  she  thinks  and  speaks  it,  speaks  and  hears 
it,  hears  and  writes  it;  having  written,  sees  and 
reads  it,  makes  it  again  audible,  and  so  again  leads 
back  to  the  thought  in  the  mind.  We  see  here  the 
spiritual  and  corporeal  united  in  one  body,  and 
using  it  as  a  symbol  we  comprehend  and  recognize 
all  which  exists  and  lives.  Here  the  progress  has 
been  from  existence  and  life  as  such,  from  the 
spirit,  which  then  as  a  sequence  leads  back  again 
to  the  recognition  of  existence  and  life  as  such,  and 
of  the  spirit  of  all  which  has  appeared  and  is  ap- 
pearing. 


20      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

And  now  we "  see  with  what  deep  womanly 
thought  Lina's  mother  found  her  course  of  train- 
ing not  only  in  a  name,  but  in  the  name  of  the 
child  itself,  and  discovered  how  the  way  of  train- 
ing entered  upon  by  herself  and  the  child's  own 
course  of  development  coincide ;  how  the  laws,  limi- 
tations, and  requirements  of  the  one  are  at  the  same 
time  those  of  the  other,  and  therefore  the  require- 
ments of  the  mother  are  easy  for  the  child  to  com- 
prehend and  to  fulfill. 

We  further  see  how  the  mother  has  found  in 
the  name  a  means  of  perception,  a  symbol,  as  it 
were,  by  which  to  make  the  child  recognize  that 
the  spirit  is  perceptible  in  the  corporeal,  and  as  it 
is  perceptible  in  the  corporeal  can  come  forth  from 
it  and  become  active. 

Through  this  course  of  proceeding  the  mother 
has  also  (which  is  of  like  importance  with  the  pre- 
ceding) obtained  a  means  of  bringing  the  child  to 
conceive,  perceive,  and  understand  the  working  of 
the  spiritual  upon  the  spirit,  and  of  even  making 
it  perceptible  in  itself  (going  through  the  corporeal, 
the  body,  as  it  were,  from  the  body,  acting  again 
upon  the  spirit,  and  being  felt  and  recognized  by 
the  spirit  as  spiritual).  This  takes  place  when  the 
series  of  developments  before  given  (that  of  the 
awakened  thought  visibly  appearing  in  written, 
formed  words;  from  this  again  come  forth  to  per- 
ceptible spiritually  reawakening  thought)  is  several 


NATURE  REVEALS  GOD.  21 

times  carried  through,  with  the  child  audibly  and 
visibly  (comparing  inner  cause  and  outer  appear- 
ance, outer  appearance  and  inner  effect),  as  was 
the  case  with  Lina  in  her  repeated  letter  writing. 

But  now  what  is  the  further  natural  necessary 
result  in  simple  continuous  development  of  this 
course  of  training  pursued  by  Lina's  mother?  The 
works  speak,  the  things  speak,  the  nature  makes 
itself  known  from  the  form;  by  the  form  the 
spirit  manifests  itself.  By  that  which  has  been 
produced  and  created  the  nature  and  spirit  of  the 
producer  and  creator  make  themselves  known.  As 
the  world,  the  universe  appears  to  be  always  becom- 
ing and  constantly  creating,  it  also  appears  to  have 
become,  to  be  created,  it  appears  as  a  creation.  It 
must  therefore  necessarily  express,  reveal,  and  man- 
ifest the  nature  of  its  original  cause — the  spirit  of 
its  Creator.  If  we  now  listen  to  the  one  great  ac- 
cord of  the  world,  resolving  in  itself  all  distances, 
it  sounds  "  good !  "  But  good,  in  its  completeness 
and  perfection  as  it  appears  in  the  universe,  as  the 
harmony  of  the  world,  includes  in  itself  the  beau- 
tiful, the  true,  and  the  right.  Therefore  goodness 
in  itself,  and,  as  it  were,  complete  in  itself,  must 
necessarily  be  the  nature  of  the  Creator  of  the 
world  and  of  the  universe.  Nature  therefore 
makes  known  the  being  of  God;  it  renders  his  na- 
ture clear  and  perceptible  to  us.  Thus  Nature,  , 
being  in  itself  single  and  also  living  by  its  own] 


22      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

power,  shows  and  testifies  that,  in  all  its  rest,  it  is 
living;  with  all  its  changing  existence,  it  is  exist- 
ing; with  all  its  manifoldness,  it  is,  in  itself,  sin- 
gle, and  is  thus  the  complete  expression  of  the 
goodness  of  its  Creator. 

How  highly  important  for  life  are  these  say- 
ings! What  deeply  grasping  life-comprehending 
truths!  How  they  begin  with  the  simplest  and 
close  with  the  highest!  They  therefore  correspond 
to  the  anticipations  of  the  child's  mind,  as  well  as 
satisfy  the  investigating  nature  of  the  man's  spirit. 
They  can  be  developed  for  the  thoughtful  child 
from  the  nearest,  even  from  its  name  (as  we  are 
taught  by  our  examination  of  Lina's  learning  to 
read  and  write),  and  at  the  same  time  also  show 
the  germinating  points  of  deeper  knowledge  to  the 
thinking  adult. 

Indeed,  for  ourselves  the  starting  point  for 
showing  the  nature  and  spirit  of  the  developing, 
educational  training  of  man  and  the  demonstra- 
tion of  its  possible  realization  comes  out  by  this 
consideration  from  symbolic  perception.  For  if 
there  is  to  be  development  there  must  be  some- 
thing to  develop;  if  there  is  to  be  education  there 
must  be  something  to  draw  out,  to  educate;  if 
there  is  to  be  cultivation  there  must  be  something 
to  cultivate.  The  question,  therefore,  is  first.  What 
is  there  in  the  child  to  develop,  to  educate,  to  cul- 
tivate?    That  which  develops  and  cultivates  itself 


LAWS  OF  DEVELOPMENT.  23 

only  according  to  limitation — that  is,  according  to 
laws.  But  education  is  intertwined  with  develop- 
ment and  cultivation;  therefore  it  must  also  corre- 
spond to  the  laws  of  development  and  cultivation 
of  the  one  who  shapes  it.  Those  who  educate  must 
therefore  inevitably  not  only  know,  but  act  in  con- 
formity with  and  be  faithful  to  these  laws  of  de- 
velopment of  the  one  who  is  to  be  formed  by  edu- 
cation. A  further  question,  therefore,  is.  What  are 
the  laws  of  development  and  cultivation,  and  what 
is  the  test  of  their  being  rightly  followed? 

The  course  of  cultivation  followed  by  Lina's 
mother  gave  and  gives  us  in  a  symbolic  view,  by  its 
result,  the  answer  to  all  this  and  the  solution  of  all 
this.  It  showed  and  taught  us  that  all  created 
things  bear  within  themselves  the  nature  of  the 
Creator;  but  the  Creator  is  in  himself  good;  the 
child  is  also  a  creation,  and  therefore  also  bears 
within  him  the  nature  of  his  Creator — goodness. 
And  further  it  taught  us  how  the  Original  Cause  of 
all  life  is  one  and  single,  bearing  life  in  himself 
and  creating  life  from  himself.  So  also  the  life 
of  all  which  is  manifold  and  apparently  isolated 
in  the  universe  is,  according  to  its  inner  nature, 
single.  And  each  individual  being  as  it  is  in  ap- 
pearance a  whole  in  itself  is  also,  in  accordance 
with  its  nature,  a  part  of  the  uniform  life  of  crea- 
tion, therefore  at  the  same  time  a  part  and  a  whole 
— a  part-whole  which,  even  in  its  slightest  detail, 


24      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

as  a  separate  being,  not  only  feels  itself  as  a  part- 
whole  and  lives  as  sucli,  but  also  shows  in  its  sepa- 
rate existence  the  life  of  the  whole  world  and  of 
all  Nature.  We  recognize  even  in  the  beginning 
in  Lina's  request  that  the  child  early  felt  herself  as 
a  part-whole,  occupied  herself  as  such,  and  made 
claims  as  such.  From  this  comes  the  great — that 
is,  all-comprising,  and  therefore  highly  important — 
sequence:  As  each  individual  and  separate  being  is 
a  part-whole  of  the  all-life,  so  also  its  laws  of  de- 
velopment are  those  of  the  whole  world  and  the 
whole  of  life;  only  they  will  be  manifested  in  pe- 
culiar separate  ways  and  limits,  determined  by  the 
separateness  of  the  separate  being. 

But  all  which  is  individual,  which  exerts  a  de- 
veloping and  thus  educating  influence  upon  any 
separate  being  in  Nature  and  the  creation,  in  the 
whole  world  and  in  all  life,  is  likewise  a  whole  and 
a  part  of  the  whole  of  the  world  and  of  all  life. 
Consequently,  as  it  bears  within  it  the  nature  and 
life  of  this  whole,  it  develops  and  acts  according  to 
the  laws  of  this  whole;  but  only  in  its  special  pe- 
culiar way,  therefore  also  according  to. the  laws  of 
development  of  each  individual,  deducting  that 
which  is  determined  by  its  separateness  and  pecul- 
iarity. 

And  after  this  the  above-stated  questions  can 
be  answered  as  simply  as  precisely: 
/  1.  What  is  that  which  is  to  be  developed,  to  be 


SELF-ACTIVITY  GOD'S  EEYELATION.  25 

educated,  to  be  cultivated  in  the  child?  It  is  the 
nature  of  the  Creator,  who  is  also  the  Creator  of 
the  child;  it  is  the  divine  nature  as  it  appears  lim- 
ited by  creation,  world,  and  Nature,  by  humanity 
and  the  human  race,  by  much  separateness,  espe- 
cially by  the  separateness  of  personality  and  indi- 
viduality. 

2.  What  are  the  laws  of  development  and  for- 
mation according  to  which  man  is  to  develop  by 
education?  They  are  the  laws  of  development  and 
cultivation  which  have  their  cause  and  their  source 
in  God  as  the  Creator  of  the  world,  by  which  and 
according  to  which  the  world  was  created,  by  which 
and  according  to  which  Nature,  being  and  life, 
goodness  and  love,  reveal  themselves  and  still  make 
themselves  known  in  humanity,  in  the  human  race, 
and  in  the  individual  human  being,  and  which 
therefore  appear  in  each  newborn  child,  living  and 
working  anew  as  essence. 

But  in  order  to  speak  like  the  child  in  a  child- 
like, and,  as  a  German  and  a  man,  in  a  German, 
manlike  way,  since  He  who  is  in  himself  single 
and  good  (in  which  words,  as  I  have  before  said, 
are  comprised  all  the  other  qualities  which  are  rec- 
ognized as  divine,  such  as  love,  life,  etc.)  revealed 
his  nature  from  inner  self-determination,  outward- 
ly demonstrated,  and  declared,  and  disclosed  his 
nature  as  single  and  good,  living  and  loving.  That 
is,  as  the  Creator  of  the  world  created  and  creates 


26      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

from  himself,  created  the  universe,  the  world,  and 
so  the  creation,  the  universe  appeared,  as  it  were,  to 
be  drawn  from  within  him.  Therefore  the  crea- 
tion, Nature,  and  even  the  human  being  should 
from  inner  self-determination  make  known  and 
manifest  the  divine — that  is,  the  nature,  being, 
and  life  of  the  Creator  of  each.  And  so  a  feeling 
single  in  itself,  indeed,  but  dual  in  appearance  (as 
each  individual,  being  dual,  is  opposite  to  the  sin- 
gle), the  feeling  of  impulse  and  attraction  grew  in 
each  separate  existence,  and  so  above  all  in  man, 
as  a  sign  and  testimony,  as  it  were,  that  he  has  his 
source  and  origin  in  the  single,  is  born  from  the 
single  as  individual,  and  is  to  feel  himself  at 
the  same  time  a  part  and  a  whole.  Therefore, 
according  to  this,  the  child's  slumbering  im- 
pulse to  develop  and  represent  his  nature  by  his 
own  choice  and  his  own  determination  requires 
from  without  the  educating  attraction  to  waken 
and  arouse  this  impulse.  This  fact  is  the  founda- 
tion of  the  natural,  original,  reciprocal  relation  of 
pupil  and  educator,  which  is  here  only  intimated. 
But  since  the  developing  educator  is,  as  well  as  the 
pupil,  a  manifold  part-whole  of  the  all-life,  etc., 
he,  as  such,  carries  within  him  (though  in  a  manner 
peculiar  to  himself)  the  general  laws  of  the  whole, 
and  especially  the  laws  of  development  of  the 
whole,  and  hence  brings  them  to  his  own  recogni- 
tion and  consciousness.     He  can  consequently  un- 


PUPIL  AND  TEACHER.  27 

derstand  his  undeveloped  pupil  in  the  laws  of  his 
development.  He  can  stand  encouragingly  and 
testingly  beside  his  pupil  so  much  the  better  as 
both  are  beings  of  one  kind,  both  are  human  beings, 
and  he  (the  educator)  is  conscious  of  the  fact. 

The  nature  and  the  general  laws  of  develop- 
ment of  the  whole  are  expressed  in  educator  and 
pupil,  although  in  each  in  a  separate  way.  For 
this  reason  misunderstandings  and  misconceptions 
will  come  in  with  the  influencing  of  the  educator 
and  the  achieving  of  the  pupil,  in  spite  of  honest 
effort  on  both  sides.  The  pupil,  as  well  as  the 
educator,  is,  as  a  part-whole,  a  separate  being.  So 
the  influence  which  educates  by  developing  and 
which  is  as  free  as  possible  from  errors  requires  a 
higher  scrutiny  lying  beyond  the  changing,  sepa- 
rate life  and  the  misconceiving  separate  nature. 
But  to  the  thinking  educator  who  has  become  con-  \ 
scious  of  this  vocation  and  its  requirements  Na- 
ture is  a  part-whole,  is  a  touchstone,  facing  him 
in  his  separate  existence.  A  sure  means  of  criti- 
cism which  is  given  to  him  by  l^ature  is  its  mute, 
but  yet  clearly  speaking  law^s  of  development  and 
formation,  which  are  necessary,  not  free,  but 
changeless  and  indeed  eternal.  A  second  means/ 
of  criticism  is  afforded  by  the  free  spirit  which  has' 
become  conscious  of  itself  in  its  laws  of  thought, 
which  are  likewise  eternal,  but  spiritual.  Both  the 
laws  of  ifature  and  the  spirit's  laws  of  thought 


28      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

reciprocally  explain,  confirm,  and  complete  one  an- 
other because  they  have  their  common,  final  cause 
in  the  original  nature  and  original  life  in  the  eter- 
nal and  single  goodness — in  God. 

We  should  be  now  already  in  the  position  to 
answer  the  question,  What  is  the  touchstone  for 
the  kind  of  training  which  educates  the  human  be- 
ing by  developing  him?  Yet  in  its  nature,  as  well 
as  in  its  results,  this  question  is  so  important  for 
the  human  race,  humanity,  and  the  nations  that  it 
requires  not  only  earnest  examination,  but  also  the 
provision  of  a  touchstone  (or  test)  which  lies  within 
its  reach.  For  as  Nature  develops  in  constantly 
equal,  quiet,  and  inviolable  necessity  and  uniform- 
ity, so  does  humanity  develop  in  continual  change 
from  dependence,  freedom,  attainment  of  conscious- 
ness and  independent  choice  which  lead  to  the  dis- 
covery of  that  which  is  right  and  necessary.  This 
change  is  effected  by  erring  and  failing,  by  igno- 
rance and  imperfection,  by  that  which  has  taken 
place  and  is  taking  place  to  the  discovery  of  that 
which  is  right  and  necessary.  But  that  which  has 
taken  place  and  is  taking  place  (which  latter  imme- 
diately again  becomes  the  former)  refers  either 
more  to  the  inner,  the  mind,  the  nature,  or  it  refers 
more  to  the  outward,  the  relations,  and  positions. 
But  that  which  has  taken  place  in  this  double- 
sidedness  as  the  history  of  the  inner  and  of  the  outer 
life  shows  in  its  results,  limitations,  and  laws  of  de- 


TEST  OF  THE  TRUE  METHOD.       29 

velopment  how  it  exerts  a  cultivating  influence  in 
and  by  means  of  these  results  while  developing 
itself  in  accordance  with  necessary  laws  and  refer- 
ring to  these  laws.  Therefore  we  now  also  see 
humanity,  the  human  races,  and  the  nations  secur- 
ing the  right  that  the  results  of  history,  as  well  in 
its  separation  as  inner  and  outer  history  as  in  its 
union  (history  as  such),  should  go  side  by  side  with 
and  test  the  education  of  their  children. 

And  so  then  it  is  also  possible  for  us  in  reference 
to  our  subject  (the  kind  of  training  of  the  human 
being  which  educates  by  developing)  to  give  to  the 
third  and  last  question  (What  is  the  touchstone  of 
the  correct  following  of  training?)  a  complete  an- 
swer which  meets  the  question  on  all  sides.  First- 
ly, and  first  of  all,  Nature  in  its  necessary,  change- 
less laws  of  development  and  formation,  then  the 
intellect  in  its  unchanging,  logical  laws  of  thought, 
and  finally  history  (the  history  of  the  inner  and 
invisible,  as  well  as  of  the  outer  life)  in  its  actually 
manifest  results. 

The  decision  of  such  tests  is  to  be  trusted  wher- 
ever such  tests  appear,  and  this  so  much  the  more 
as  they  coincide  in  the  same  decision.  We  now 
see  at  the  end  of  our  contemplation  what  is  to  be 
expected  of  the  future  in  this  respect. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  course  of  training 
employed  by  Lina's  mother,  and  let  us  follow  it 
observantly  in  order  to  perceive  in  it  more  of  the 


30      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

nature  and  requirement  of  the  training  which  edu- 
cates by  developing. 

Lina  wishes  to  learn  to  write.  The  mother 
complies  with  the  child's  wish,  knowing  what  writ- 
ing is — namely,  a  memory,  a  thought  (therefore 
originally  purely  internal  and  invisible)  afterward 
as  spoken  word  audible  (therefore  perceptible, 
though  vanishing  on  the  instant  it  is  perceived)  con- 
nected with  a  visible,  abiding  sign.  We  now  see 
the  mother  act  in  conformity  with  this  knowl- 
edge, and  proceed  from  this  sure  foundation.  As 
has  been  frequently  mentioned,  she  connects  her 
action  with  the  name  of  the  child.  What  does 
she  wish  to  obtain  by  this  connection  beyond  what 
we  have  already  noted?  First  of  all,  she  requires 
the  child  to  feel  and  to  think  of  its  own  personal- 
ity. She  reminds  it  of  its  name.  She  thus  re- 
quires the  child  to  feel  itself  to  be  the  precise  per- 
son named,  and  to  think  of  itself  as  such.  All 
this  is  in  reference  to  the  child,  and  is  done  by  the 
child  inwardly  and  invisibly.  This  is  the  first 
step.  But  the  child  desires  to  write  its  name;  it 
desires  to  connect  its  internal,  invisible  personality 
with  that  which  is  outwardly  visible,  and  therefore 
a  pure  opposite  of  the  former.  This  is  the  second 
step.  What  does  the  mother  do  to  attain  this? 
She  lets  the  child  speak  its  name,  which  was  first 
thought  of  inwardly  and  invisibly,  and  which  it  de- 
sires to  represent  outwardly  and  visibly  (to  write). 


THE  NATURE  OF  THE  WORD.  31 

What  is  speaking?  Making  an  inward  thought  out- 
wardly perceptible  in  such  a  way  that  it  vanishes 
again  the  instant  it  is  perceived.  Now,  what  is 
the  word  according  to  this  statement?  It  is  that 
which  is  intermediate  between  the  purely  internal, 
invisible  thought  and  the  completely  external 
abidingly  visible  sign  (the  writing).  It  unites  in 
itself  the  nature  and  the  properties  of  both  thought 
and  writing,  and  thus  connects  them.  For  the 
word,  being  only  audible,  is  invisible,  like  the 
thought,  but  it  is,  however,  outwardly  perceptible 
through  one  of  the  senses,  that  of  hearing,  as  the 
writing  is  through  that  of  sight.  This  is  the  third 
step.  Lina's  mother  has  found  another  secret  of 
that  training  of  the  human  being  which  educates 
by  developing,  and  a  further  sure  foundation  for 
the  accomplishment  of  that  training  as  well  as  for 
the  attainment  of  a  training  which  meets  on  all 
sides  the  demands  of  the  human  being  by  clear  per- 
ception, knowledge,  and  recognition,  as  well  as  by 
the  conscious  application  of  the  connecting  third 
(between  each  two  things,  qualities,  etc.,  which  are 
opposite  to,  yet  like  one  another).  The  law  of 
connection  is  the  fundamental  law  in  the  universe, 
the  fundamental  law  of  the  visible  and  the  in- 
visible, of  the  spiritual  and  of  the  corporeal  world. 
The  presentiment  of  this  law  was  to  man  the  first 
sign  and  seal  of  his  nature  and  of  his  worth.  Man 
and  humanity  are  the  representatives  of  this  law, 


32      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

for  man  and  humanity  stand  in  the  universe  be- 
tween God  gnd  the  creation.  They  are  to  recog- 
nize both  God  and  the  creation,  and  are  able,  des- 
tined, and  called  to  act  as  God  acts  in  their  life- 
course  in  and  through  the  creation,  because  they 
themselves  are  created  and  creators. 

For  confirmation  of  what  has  been  above  stated 
(without  appealing  further  to  the  severe  but  just 
criticism  above  named),  let  us  follow  further  the 
way  of  training  of  our  much-mentioned  mother. 
She  now  requires  the  child  (after  it  has  recognized 
itself  as  a  person  and  felt  itself  to  be  such)  to 
speak  its  name  plainly,  and  listen  to  it  attentively. 
Let  us  also  listen  to  the  child  as  she  says,  L-i-n-a, 
and  like  mother  and  child  we  also  hear  the  sounds 
i — a.  "  But  your  name  is  not  formed  only  of 
these  two  sounds,  so  say  it  again  attentively,  and 
let  us  see  what  else  it  contains."  "  L-i-n-a,"  says 
the  child  again,  and  mother  and  child  find  that 
the  name  contains  the  articulations  L — 'n,  be- 
sides the  pure  voice  sounds  (vowels).  Indeed,  in 
the  course  of  their  way  of  training  the  mother 
and  child  find  that  what  is  spoken  also  contains 
such  sounds  as  b  and  p,  d  and  t,  g  and  k.  The 
mother  lets  the  child  feel  and  anticipate  that  speech 
itself,  the  result  of  the  thought  and  intellect  of 
man,  also  contains  sharply  defined  opposites,  the 
tones,  or  voice  sounds  (a,  o,  u,  i,  etc.) ;  the  toneless 
b,  p,  d,  t,  etc.),  the  so-called  close  sounds  or  mutes; 


LANGUAGE  THE  MIDDLE  TERM.  33 

and  the  continuants  (1,  n,  r,  m,  etc.),  whicli  connect 
the  two  former,  resembling  each  other  in  some  re- 
spects. 

Thus  our  mother's  course  of  training  shows  us 
how  man  is  a  connection  between  the  Creator  and 
the  creation  in  the  universe.  It  shows  us  how 
language  is  a  connection  between  man  and  things, 
between  the  thought  of  man  and  his  action.  Thus 
speech  itself,  in  its  first  and  most  exterior  elements, 
impresses  the  law  of  connection.  Indeed,  this  law 
is  again  expressed  in  the  elements  of  speech,  in  the 
individual  parts  (to  cite  but  one  example  out  of 
many  possible  ones),  in  the  voice  sounds  themselves, 
since  the  sound  o  connects  the  two  purely  oppo- 
site sounds  a  and  u,  the  first  of  which  expresses 
materiality,  and  the  second  the  essence.  In  the  na- 
tional dialects  the  a  like  the  u  passes  easily  into  o. 
We  can  not  combine  the  a  with  the  u  in  the  sound 
of  plain  "  ow "  [au  in  German]  without  being 
obliged  to  use  also  the  sound  o,  so  that  when  we 
say  au  we  actually  say  aou,  although  the  sound 
o,  which  is  unavoidably  used  between  the  others, 
is  but  little  heard,  and  still  less  noticed.  Lan- 
guage is  an  organic  construction  (Bau)  of  oppo- 
sites,  a  whole  which  is  in  itself  single,  a  finished 
whole. 

But  language  is  a  result  of  the  thinking  mind. 
Consequently  the  law  of  connection  is  an  essential 
law  in  the  human  mind.     From  the  narrow  point 


34      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

of  view,  and  within  the  narrow  limits  of  teaching 
writing  and  learning  to  write,  this  must  here  suffice 
to  clearly  demonstrate  why  the  law  of  connection 
is  also  the  fundamental  law  of  the  kind  of  train- 
ing of  the  human  being  which  educates  by  devel- 
oping. The  individiial  man,  like  all  humanity,  is 
surrounded  by  the  manifestations  of  the  law.  As 
then  he  represents  this  law  in  many  ways,  and  is, 
becomes,  effects,  and  creates  that  which  he  is,  be- 
comes, effects,  creates,  and  does,  etc.,  only  by  apply- 
ing and  using  this  law,  so  a  kind  of  human  educa- 
tion which  gives  such  peace,  joy,  and  freedom  as 
satisfy  man's  nature  on  all  sides  is  possible  only 
through  this  law,  as  has  been  already  said. 

As  we  now  see  at  once,  this  law  is  a  practical 
one — that  is,  one  which  primarily  has  its  determin- 
ing conditions,  its  seat,  in  each  essence — but  only 
man  himself  can  become  conscious  of  it  in  all  the 
directions  and  references  recognized  by  him.  First, 
by  means  of  this  law  man  rises  from  the  con- 
ditions of  natural  necessity  (to  which  the  creatures 
below  him  constantly  remain  subjected)  to  that  of 
intellectual  freedom  of  will  and  self-determination. 
Second,  this  law,  in  its  true  recognition  and  in- 
sight, is  not  only  acknowledged,  but  even  practiced 
and  applied,  because  it  exactly  coincides  with  the 
nature  of  man.  Indeed,  as  we  already  saw  and 
stated,  by  means  of  this  law  man  first  actually  be- 
comes a  human  being — that  is,  recognizes  and  ac- 


TRUE  METHOD  LEADS  TO  FREEDOM.    35 

knowledges  himself  in  his  essence,  nature,  and  vo- 
cation— and  in  this  acknowledgment  acts,  works, 
and  creates  according  to  this  law  and  so  must  act, 
work,  and  create.  In  other  words,  he  determines  to 
act  freely  from  himself,  as  this  law  requires,  with- 
out, however,  recognizing  it  in  its  great  generality 
and  as  a  law  of  the  world,  as  it  were.  It  is  illus- 
trated by  the  most  peculiar  phenomena  in  human 
life,  which  hitherto,  so  far  as  I  know,  have  not  been 
comprehended,  still  less  acknowledged. 

The  law  of  connection  has  been  put  into  action, 
especially  in  the  Western  countries,  and  particular- 
ly in  the  German  nation.  When  recognized  and 
acknowledged  as  a  directly  practical  law  (because 
only  in  connection  is  man's  existence  full  of  life) 
it  gives  to  man,  as  an  individual  and  in  communi- 
ties, that  for  which  (based  on  his  human  nature) 
he  yearns,  hopes,  and  strives;  since  the  proofs  of 
it,  as  well  as  the  conditions  of  it,  are  not  outside  of, 
but  just  in  the  man  himself. 

By  means  of  the  course  of  training  which  Lina's 
mother  employed  and  by  the  actual  inner  nature 
of  this  training  there  now  lies  plainly  before  us 
also  the  nature  of  our  training  of  the  child  and 
man — a  training  which  educates  by  developing. 

We  know  what  is  to  develop  in  the  child  and 
man;  it  is  the  godlike  in  natural,  earthly,  human 
manifestations. 

We  have  learned  that  what  is  to  be  developed 


36      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

by  education  must  be  developed  by  educating  in 
accordance  with  laws. 

We  have  found  that  an  infallible  way  and 
means  of  testing  must  be  given  for  the  correct  ap- 
plication of  these  laws  of  education,  and  we  have 
recognized  them  in  Nature^  in  their  originaL-cause, 
in  the  original  fount  of  all  being  and  life,  in  man 
as  a  thinking  being,  in  the  laws  of  man's  thought 
and  reason,  in  the  results  and  evidences  of  the  in- 
ternal and  external  history  of  the  human  race  and 
in  history  in  general. 

We  found  even  at  the  beginning  that  the  first 
condition  and,  consequently,  really  the  first  law  of 
all  phenomena  whether  past  or  present,  is  the  law 
of  opposites,  and  that  this  law  is,  as  it  were,  the  por- 
tion of  each  being  that  has  entered  into  existence, 
(therefore  especially  of  man,  who  is  called  to 
thought  and  research,  to  comparison  and  reflection, 
to  the  knowledge  of  his  nature  and  to  conscious- 
ness) and  conditioned  even  with  man's  appearance 
on  earth  as  a  child.  Indeed,  we  find  that  man,  even 
in  his  earliest  childhood  as  a  manifold  part-whole, 
reveals  and  demonstrates  this  law  by  and  in  himself. 

But  we  find  the  law  of  connection  given  at  the 
same  time  as  the  law  of  opposites.  The  former  is 
precisely  the  one  which  we  recognize  and  main- 
tain to  be  the  inalienable  law  of  all  true  education, 
consequently  the  fundamental  law  of  the  kind  of 
training  of  the  human  being  which  educates  by 


WHAT  THIS  METHOD  ACCOMPLISHES.         37 

developing  (our  way  and  manner  of  educating). 
Finding  it  impressed  in  Nature,  and  instinctive 
(that  is,  determined  by  the  impulse  of  life) '  in  the 
life  of  man,  and  especially  practiced  by  the  mother, 
we  wish  to  rise  to  clearly  conscious,  constant  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  fact  in  life : 

First,  by  means  of  this  law  the  child  is  thor- 
oughly comprehended  in  his  nature  and  in  con- 
formity with  that  nature. 

Second,  by  means  of  this  law  man,  even  .as  a 
young  child,  is  recognized  and  acknowledged  to  be 
in  the  central  point  of  all  the  relations  of  life,  and 
the  possibility  is  given  to  him  to  fulfill  the  require- 
ments of  these  relations. 

Third,  by  means  of  this  law  man  obtains  an 
evident,  sure  aim  and  a  satisfactory  object  of  edu- 
cation, and  at  the  same  time  the  suitable  medium, 
ways,  and  means  of  attaining  this  aim  and  this 
object. 

Fourth,  this  law  and  the  manner  of  educa- 
tion founded  upon  it  are,  as  already  above  pre- 
sented, of  a  purely  practical  nature — that  is,  press- 
ing at  once  toward  accomplishment  and  application. 
Indeed,  in  reference  to  life  in  general,  and  also  in 
reference  to  the  nature  and  the  requirement  of  the 
child  as  a  whole  and  also  a  part  of  a  greater  whole, 
and  therefore  also  in  reference  to  the  relations  sur- 
rounding the  child  and  to  those  surrounding  the 

man. 

5 


38      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

Fifth,  this  education  (as  it  presses  on  all  sides 
directly  toward  practice  and  application,  and  also 
not  only  shows,  but  even  gives  means,  nature,  and 
ways  for  this  practice  and  application)  is  directly 
suited  to  the  time,  as  well  as  to  the  space,  and 
therefore  to  the  space  of  time — that  is,  it  is  wholly 
suitable  for  exactly  the  present  relations  of  the  re- 
quirements of  the  present  time  and  to  the  present 
stage  of  cultivation.  For  our  time  is  a  purely 
practical  time — that  is,  it  has  now  finally  come  to 
the  point  of  introducing  into  life  and  applying  in 
life  that  which  has  been  hitherto  recognized  and 
which  has  also  been  everywhere  sufficiently  con- 
firmed by  experience. 

Sixth,  like  the  air  and  water  of  life,  this  method 
of  education  (just  because  it  is  thoroughly  prac- 
tical, as  it  exists  at  the  same  time  with  the  life  and 
natural  relations  of  the  child)  also  closely  connects 
itself  with  each  age  of  life,  with  each  stage  of  de- 
velopment and  each  relation  of  the  life  of  the  child, 
as  well  as  of  his  parents  and  of  families,  with  which 
latter  again  it  is  intimately  united. 

Seventh,  this  method  of  education  corresponds 
wholly  by  its  fundamental  law  to  the  requirement 
of  the  present  time  as  a  time  of  separation,  of  iso- 
lation, opposition,  and  contrariety.  Indeed,  this 
method  of  education  appears  unconditionally  (hence 
required,  we  might  say  generated,  by  itself)  as  an 
education  of  unification,  and  consequently  of  the 


LAW  OF  THE   TRIUNE  LIFE.  39 

actual  agreement  which  is  needed  for  all  the  rela- 
tions of  life,  as  well  as  for  the  innermost  nature 
and  outward  existence  of  the  individual  human 
being.  For  it  has  indeed  proceeded  from  the 
knowledge  of  the  state  of  heing  inwardly  united, 
of  unity,  of  the  opposite  (the  opposition)  and  con- 
nection (as  the  first  law  of  life).  This  fact  is  viv- 
idly and  beautifully  and  truly  expressed  in  each 
perfect  family,  and  it  is  also  clearly  and  precisely 
expressed  in  that  of  our  Lina  as  the  law  of  the 
triune  life  of  father,  mother,  and  child. 

Eighth,  the  law  of  the  triune  life  has  been 
hitherto  little  understood,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
much  misunderstood,  and  yet  it  lies  directly  near 
to  the  life  of  man  in  many  ways.  It  can  only  be 
brought  to  clearness,  to  perception,  and  to  the  ne- 
cessity of  consciously  applying  it  by  the  repeated 
observation  and  demonstration  of  the  law  of  con- 
nection. '  The  high  importance  of  this  law  for  life 
in  general,  and  especially  for  education  (the  devel- 
oping education  of  the  individual  human  being  as 
well  as  that  of  humanity),  requires  that  it  should 
be  thus  brought  to  clearness,  etc.  It  is  also  a  need 
of  the  time  and  of  life  to  present  in  life  itself  the 
practicality  of  this  law  for  everyday  life. 

Ninth,  this  method  of  educating  is  suited  to  the 
times,  for  as  it  is  practical  (that  is,  creating)  and 
closely  connected  with  all  the  relations  of  life  it 
develops  man  even  at  an  early  age  for  a  future 


40      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

securing  of  his  subsistence,  without  early  deadening 
him  to  a  machine  among  machines,  and  without 
diminishing  his  enjoyment  of  his  childhood  and 
youth.  It  does  so  not  only  because  it  unfolds, 
strengthens,  and  exercises  the  qualities  of  the  child 
to  the  point  at  which  he  can  maintain  himself,  but 
also  teaches  him  to  know  and  treat  the  necessary 
material  according  to  its  nature,  and  furnishes  and 
shows  the  means  and  ways  to  do  this.  It  therefore 
shows  and  gives  (to  connect  what  has  been  said 
with  a  word  used  at  the  present  time)  the  means  for 
lessening  proletarianism.  It  restores  to  worh  its 
high  significance,  since  it  calls  forth  experience  and 
insight  from  the  creating  activity,  from  the  inven- 
tive and  judiciously  accomplished  work;  requires 
the  cultivation  of  the  capacity  for  thinking,  and 
thought  itself;  effects  the  cultivation  of  the  reason 
together  with  that  of  the  power  of  will  and  action; 
lays  the  true  foundation  for  the  training  of  charac- 
ter and  of  self-determination  (in  and  hy  means  of  the 
life  in  the  social  ivhole),  which  is  needed  by  us  all 
and  by  the  world,  by  each  individual  human  being. 

The  effect  of  such  education  on  Lina  already 
shows  all  this,  although  only  by  slight  intimations 
here  and  there.  Its  further  demonstration,  how- 
ever, by  means  of  our  mother's  course  of  training 
is  the  problem  which  we  are  yet  to  solve. 

Let  us  therefore  continue  to  observe  the  mother 
in  the  course  of  training  her  daughter.     She  first 


THE  FEELING  OF  SELF  AND  NOT-SELF.       41 

connected  her  developing  instruction  (and  conse- 
quently education),  as  has  been  already  brought 
forward,  with  the  personal  feeling,  with  the  ob- 
servation and  recognition  of  the  personality  and 
selfhood  of  the  one  to  be  educated  and  instructed 
— of  her  daughter.  The  source  as  well  as  the 
object,  the  issue  as  well  as  the  aim,  coincide  in  the 
child.  And  this,  including  what  are  in  them- 
selves opposed  within  a  still  primitive  unit  (which 
we  remark  in  the  educating  and  instructive  action 
of  the  mother  in  reference  to  her  daughter  Lina),  is 
precisely  the  point  of  germination,  and  forms  the 
actual  nature  of  our  way  of  training  human  beings 
and  guiding  children — the  method  of  educating  by 
development.  For  from  this  personal  feeling  (the 
feeling  of  self  in  contrast  with  the  outer  world 
around)  proceeds  all  human  education,  all  educa- 
tion of  the  child  as  a  human  child  directly  upon 
his  entrance  into  the  outward  visible  world  (as  a  be- 
ing belonging  to  it,  and  yet  again  different  from 
it).  This  double  feeling,  this  keeping  quiet  pos- 
session of  that  which  is  one's  own  and  that  which 
is  foreign  to  one,  of  the  united  and  the  separated, 
is  the  germ  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  original 
principle  of  the  germ  and  root  of  the  training  of 
man  upward  and  outward  to  a  person,  to  a  charac- 
ter— suffice  it  to  say,  to  a  man  in  the  full  meaning 
of  the  word.     For  the  perfect  (vollkommen  ^)  feel- 

*  Literally  fully  come. — Tr. 


42      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ing  of  self  immediately  requires  the  complete  (voU- 
endete  ^)  feeling  of  the  all. 

Through  this  observation  of  the  course  of  train- 
ing which  Lina's  mother  followed,  and  the  con- 
clusions derived  from  it,  we  have  now  found  what 
we  missed  in  the  education  of  man  up  to  this  time 
— as  entered  into  in  clear  consciousness,  and  carried 
out  and  accomplished  with  clear  consciousness — an 
unchangeable  fixed  point  of  union  and  starting 
point  for  all  education.  This  point,  bearing  within 
itself  the  fundamental  laws  of  all  education,  con- 
tinues to  develop  and  cultivate  itself  by  this  law 
in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  life,  organically  in 
and  with  all,  from  all,  and  hy  all  which  takes  place 
with  it,  from  it,  and  for  man.  So  developing, 
this  point  of  union  and  starting  point  resembles  a 
seed,  the  innermost  part  bearing  within  itself  the 
whole  tree,  which  develops  constantly  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  its  own  laws  and  those  of  Nature 
during  hundreds  and  thousands  of  years. 

This  eternally  sure  and  fixed,  as  well  as  clearly 
defined  starting  point  now  actually  constitutes  the 
nature  of  our  way  of  training  human  beings  and 
guiding  children — the  way  of  educating  by  devel- 
oping— as  such  a  way  of  training  is  only  possible 
through  this  starting  point.  For  it  can  only  ap- 
pear as  a  whole  in  consequence  of  the  fact  that  the 

*  Literally  fully  ended.— Tr. 


UNION  OF  OPPOSITES.  43 

limitation  of  plurality,  multitude,  manifoldness, 
universality,  already  lies  in  unity  as  such,  and  that 
an  outward  and  the  outward  is  at  the  same  time 
given  in  and  with  the  inward.  Unity  and  univer- 
sality, inward  and  outward,  are  pure  opposites ;  but, 
as  a  creation  becomes  possible  only  through  the  inti- 
mate union  of  both  opposites,  so  only  by  that  inti- 
mate union  of  both  becomes  possible  the  continuous 
development  of  all  creatures,  and,  above  all,  the 
clearly  conscious  developing,  educational,  training 
(in  accordance  with  outlet,  purpose,  and  aim)  of 
man  as  an  individual,  as  well  as  of  the  human  race 
and  of  humanity  (again  as  a  whole  which  is  in  itself 
single).  All  that  is  required  for  perfection  and 
completion  by  the  education  and  training  so  often 
mentioned  is  at  once  given  by  this  intimate  union 
of  opposites  from  which  it  necessarily  proceeds.  So 
also  does  the  further  instructive  treatment  of  the 
mother,  guided  by  which  (as  by  a  red  thread)  we 
now  continue  to  advance  in  the  presentation  of  our 
way  of  educating  and  training. 

The  mother  does  not  let  the  general  perception 
given  by  the  union  of  opposites  continue  to  be  only 
a  dim  feeling;  but,  as  has  been  already  several 
times  mentioned,  makes  the  perception  objective  to 
the  child  by  its  name.  Yet,  as  was  already  said 
in  the  beginning,  the  name  belongs  to  the  complete 
realization  of  the  individual  as  a  person  and  as  a 
character — to  the  education  of  man.     It  also  again 


44:  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

directly  and  intimately  unites  the  opposites  in  itself; 
for  as  it  separates  (isolates)  man,  so  just  in  and  by 
means  of  this  isolation  it  places  him  again  in  the 
center  of  the  great  whole  of  life,  and,  first  of  all, 
in  the  center  of  the  lesser  whole  of  men  and  nations. 
The  name  makes  the  man  able  to  turn  toward  each 
human  being  while  retaining  his  personality.  So 
again  each  individual  human  being,  as  well  as  all 
human  beings,  can  again  turn  to  him.  Hence  the 
name,  first  of  all,  lies  exactly  between  the  indi- 
vidual and  the  universal.  Therefore  the  stage  of 
development  and  the  epoch  of  humanity  now  newly 
begun  lays  such  great  stress  on  the  name  man. 
^'  Be  a  man!  ''  is  the  starting  point,  as  well  as  the 
goal,  of  the  demand  of  the  present  time.  Hence 
the  training  of  the  German  people  and  the  national 
training  lays  such  high  importance  on  the  con- 
sciousness of  being  ''  German  " — "  a  German." 
"  Be  a  genuine  German  "  is  now  the  principal  de- 
mand in  each  German-born  individual,  whether 
child  or  adult,  as  is  the  above  demand,  '^  Be  a 
man,"  upon  each  human-born  individual.  "  Im- 
press complete  humanity  upon  the  German  charac- 
teristics /  "  is  therefore  the  uniting  demand  of  edu- 
cation— a  demand  which  is  now  addressed  to  us 
with  such  manifold  clearness,  and  which  it  is  so 
indispensable  that  we  should  readily  obey  if  we 
would  not  deny  ourselves  to  be  men  and  Germans 
— German  men.     To  attain  to  this  ready  obedience 


POINT   OF  DEPARTURE   OF  EDUCATION.       45 

and  to  avoid  that  denial  is  the  principal  efl'ort,  the 
aim  and  the  object  of  the  kind  of  training  of  the 
human  being  which  educates  by  developing  (a  kind 
of  training  which  we  introduced).  Such  is  also 
the  aim  of  that  which  proceeded  from  and  is  found- 
ed upon  this  training  with  equally  inevitable  ne- 
cessity— the  kindergarten. 

With  a  deep,  motherly,  natural  impulse  the 
mother  has  felt  through  all  this,  and  (by  following 
the  instinctive  motherly  impulse)  has  at  the.  same 
time  presented  the  starting  point,  the  source  of  our 
w^ay  of  training  which  develops  by  educating,  and 
has  made  it  known,  so  that  it  may  be  scrutinizingly 
observed,  that  life  may  be  in  accordance  with  it, 
and  that  it  may  be  represented. 

All  that  has  durability  and  firmness  bears  a 
reference  to  a  certain  internal  or  external  point, 
and,  as  it  were,  rests  on  this  point.  This  is  espe- 
cially the  case  with  all  that  is  to  show  existence 
by  life  and  continuous  development.  All  such 
must  bear  within  itself  a  point  of  vigorous  life. 
Lina's  mother's  course  of  training  has  plainly  dem- 
onstrated to  us  that  the  genuine  education  of  the 
human  being  in  childhood,  as  well  as  in  later  years 
— an  education  abounding  in  results — must  like- 
wise proceed  from  a  fixed,  precise,  healthy  point 
of  germination^  and  indeed  from  the  point  of  com- 
plete union — the  opposites — which  reciprocally  so 
penetrate   one  another  and  so  coincide  with  one 


46      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

another  that  even  the  gaze  of  the  innermost  spirit- 
ual eye  perceives  no  difference,  and  which  again 
freshly  sprouts  forth  from  this  point  of  union,  as  a 
point  of  life. 

And  that  training  of  the  human  being  which 
educates  by  developing  also  recognizes  this  point, 
just  as  bearing  within  itself  the  conditions  and 
fundamental  laws  of  the  appearance  of  life,  of  the 
disclosure  and  manifestation  of  life,  and  the  onward 
course  of  life  from  it  in  accordance  with  its  nature 
as  the  starting  point  and  source  of  all  genuine  edu- 
cation, such  as  leads  to  the  aim  and  attains  the  ob- 
ject. For  it  can  proceed  (free  from  doubt  and  ar- 
bitrariness) only  from  a  point  which  bears  within 
itself  at  the  same  time  the  limitations,  cause,  and 
laws  of  all  following  development  appearances  and 
requirements.  Also  education,  if  it  is  to  rest  on  a 
firm  foundation,  must  be  subjected  to  the  funda- 
mental law  of  life  and  existence,  of  Nature  and  of 
the  world.  It  must  start  from  a  precise  point  from 
which  (as  existing  in  and  at  the  same  time  with  it, 
in  accordance  with  fixed  and  sure  laws  of  develop- 
ment and  formation  in  which  necessity  and  free- 
dom appear  to  have  an  equal  right)  all  the  rest 
proceed  in  reciprocal  balance. 

And  thus  (as  the  training  which  educates  by 
developing  appears  thereby  to  be  the  only  one  cor- 
responding to  the  nature  of  man  and  to  child  na- 
ture) is  also  gained  the  first  changeless  base,  the 


POLARITY  THE  DIVINE  LAW.  47 

sure  starting  point,  and  the  pure  source  from 
which,  like  a  clear  stream,  the  further  developing 
laws  of  education — the  laws  of  opposites,  of  the 
part-whole  of  life,  of  connection,  of  triune  life — 
quietly  flow  forth  (neither  disturbing  nor  clouding 
the  others),  all  of  which  Lina's  mother's  course  of 
training  shows  us  perceptibly  and  actually.  For 
— and  this  is  the  further  highly  important  fact 
which  lies  in  the  background  of  the  mother's  whole 
style  of  management,  which  starts  from  the  instinc- 
tive and  rises  to  clear  consciousness,  as  well  as  to 
clear  insight,  and  from  this  manner  of  manage- 
ment also  definitely  speaks — all  these  laws,  re- 
quirements, and  conditions  form  actually  one  and 
the  same  law  (though  they  appear  different  and  are 
perceived  and  comprehended  as  different) — name- 
ly, the  law  of  the  original  unit — of  the  being  and 
life  which  has  its  source  in  Him  who  by  himself, 
in  himself,  through  and  from  himself  is  good — ■ 
God.  This  law  declares  and  reveals  itself  as  divine 
in  the  whole  and  in  each  individual  being  of  the 
all,  as  the  creation  of  God.  This  law,  above  all,  lies 
in  the  blossom  and  fruit  disclosed  before  our  eyes, 
in  the  man  who  is  to  be  consciously  educated  to 
consciousness,  and,  with  and  by  means  of  natural 
necessity,  is  to  be  educated  to  freedom.  By  this 
law  are  given  for  the  subject  the  "  divineness  of 
the  nature  of  man  "  (as  the  object  of  that  training 
of  the  human  being  which  educates  by  develop- 


48      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ing),  at  once  clearly  and  with  precision,  the  stated 
laws,  conditions,  and  requirements  of  its  develop- 
ment and  cultivation.  But  quite  pre-eminently 
the  infallible  means  and  ways  of  testing  are  also 
given,  that  they  may  be  employed.  These  means 
are:  Nature,  the  laws  of  decay,  existence,  develop- 
ment, and  formation  of  and  in  the  universe,  in  the 
creation;  the  spirit  (in  its  eternal  laws  of  thought 
and  in  accordance  with  them)  and  that  which  is 
recognized  in  it  and  by  means  of  it,  namely,  his- 
tory in  its  results  and  laws  of  life  perceived  as  sepa- 
rate, in  the  history  of  the  outward  and  of  the  in- 
ward life,  or  as  history  of  the  whole,  joint,  united 
and  single,  inward  and  outv/ard  life.  By  means 
of  all  this,  and  this  is  shown  to  us  even  by  Lina's 
mother's  way  of  management,  education  has  again 
become  (or  is  now  actually  for  the  first  time  by 
means  of  that  training  of  the  human  being  which 
educates  by  developing)  what  it  should  be — a  sci- 
ence, a  genuine  science  of  education,  an  education 
with  clear  knowledge  of  the  subject,  of  its  aim  and 
purpose,  of  the  means  and  ways,  etc.  It  becomes 
an  art,  a  genuine  and  true  art  of  education,  de- 
pendent on  a  vivid,  all-comprising  idea  of  education. 
It  is,  above  all,  a  simple,  practical  (that  is,  easily 
and  clearly  practiced  and  practicing)  living  fact, 
which  grows  forth  to  a  genuine  life  of  education 
leading  toward  the  aim — the  educational  life  of  the 
individual,  of  the  family,  and  of  the  people — which 


EDUCATION  AS  LIFE,   ART,   SCIENCE.         49 

rises  from  the  instinctive  impulse  of  Nature  and 
life,  an  impulse  which  (as  a  true  daughter  of  Na- 
ture) leads  us  to  virtue,  etc.,  to  self -stability,  mo- 
rality, union  with  God.  By  such  an  education  life 
in  all  relations  and  endeavors  is  satisfied. 

It  only  remains  for  us  to  point  out  in  general 
how  all  this  also  is  realized  and  obtained  by  that 
training  of  the  human  being  which  educates  by 
developing. 

The  question  here  is,  first  of  all,  practical  un- 
derstanding. Without  entering  further  into  the 
division  of  education  just  indicated  for  the  clearer 
comprehension  of  and  the  deeper  search  into  the 
subject — viz.,  the  division  into  the  life  of  educa- 
tion, the  art  of  education,  and  the  science  of  edu- 
cation— let  us  now  turn  rather  to  education  as  a 
finished  whole,  single  in  itself,  pervaded  by  life, 
art,  and  science  in  equal  measure,  as,  in  the  just- 
mentioned  arbitrary  and  artificial  separation  itself, 
either  may  be  predominant  by  catching  the  eye 
before  the  other.  In  order  to  solve  our  before- 
mentioned  problem,  we  will  now  show  how  we  ap- 
ply the  laws,  conditions,  and  requirements  recog- 
nized and  explained  in  the  preceding  pages  in  the 
representation  of  that  training  of  human  beings 
and  children  which  educates  purely  by  developing, 
always  with  an  explanatory  retrospective  glance 
at  the  way  in  which  Lina  is  comprehended  by  her 
mother  in  the  course  of  training  pursued  by  the 


50      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

latter.  As  we  now  consider  our  child,  the  little 
one  whom  we  are  to  cultivate  and  train,  as  an  in- 
dividual and  particular  thing  which  is  conditioned 
and  demanded  by  the  whole  and  general,  and 
which  bears  within  itself  the  limitation  of  its  exist- 
ence, of  its  development  and  cultivation  in  recip- 
rocal action  with  the  life-whole,  we  look  upon  each 
of  its  expressions  of  life  and  activity  as  a  purely 
personal  expression  of  its  own  life,  but  (even  in  the 
smallest  of  its  expressions)  constantly  in  combina- 
tion with  the  great  whole  of  life  and  with  the  All- 
life,  standing  in  relation  to  it,  in  two  respects — once 
in  reference  to  its  outward  appearance  and  effect, 
its  influence,  and  again  in  reference  to  its  inner 
origin,  to  its  original  source  in  its  own  nature. 

Helpless,  indeterminate,  and  weak  as  the  child 
seems  in  all  his  expressions  of  life  from  his  first 
entrance  into  life,  he  does  not  perform  a  single 
action  which  is  to  be  isolated,  and  is  not  to  bear 
within  itself  at  the  same  time  the  three  relations  of 
individual  and  personal  life,  of  life  in  the  wliole 
(in  Nature),  and  of  the  united  nature  of  both; 
consequently  there  is  actually  no  action  which  is 
not  a  triune  one.  For  all  expressions  refer  con- 
stantly to  his  personal  existence  in  conflict  (of  com- 
prehending and  doing)  with  the  outer  world,  a  con- 
flict which  is  mediated  and  removed  by  the  spirit- 
ual union  of  both. 

So  now  also  our  way  of  training,  which  edu- 


EDUCATION  HAS  THREE  PHASES.  51 

cates  by  developing,  comprises  from  birth  each 
phenomenon  in  the  life  of  the  child — first,  for 
the  securing  of  his  existence  as  a  personal  and 
separate  being;  second,  for  grasping  and  han- 
dling, for  understanding  the  outside  world  around; 
and  third,  for  the  arousing  and  fostering  of  the 
presentiment  of  an  individual  and  uniting  nature. 
All  three  of  these  have  been  done  hitherto  even  by 
each  simple  mother  guided  by  her  natural  impulse 
as  a  human  mother,  so  especially — which  perhaps 
seems  wholly  unfounded  and  strained  to  many — 
by  her  talk  to  and  with  the  child  from  the  first 
instant  of  his  claiming  and  appropriating,  on 
through  childhood.  What  has  hitherto  been  done 
(and  always,  even  by  the  mother)  as  a  natural  im- 
pulse we  now  raise  to  action  with  clear  conscious- 
ness and  true  insight  and  circumspection. 

By  this  comprehension  of  the  child,  by  defi- 
nitely bringing  out  this  comprehension  (which  is 
needed)  and  by  placing  it  in  a  clear  light,  all  which 
is  done  and  is  to  be  done  by  and  with  the  child  re- 
ceives its  true  significance,  even  the  bodily  tending, 
the  providing  of  food,  and  the  motherly  petting. 
This  view  and  treatment  also  blend  with  all  that  is 
done  with  Lina  and  with  the  way  in  which  it  was 
done.  That  first  attention  to  the  child  in  its  triune 
life  by  bodily  tending,  by  food,  by  the  offering  of 
nourishment  and  by  motherly  petting,  is  connected 
with  the  development  of   the  limbs,   senses,   and 


52      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

mind  of  the  child  as  a  triune  being.  For,  as  soon 
as  anything  particular  is  brought  near  the  child's 
eye,  which  arouses  his  innermost  life  and  will,  we 
see  immediately  that  the  development  of  the  senses 
acts  on  the  thinking  powers,  and  at  the  same  time 
on  the  will,  the  use  of  the  limbs,  and  the  bodily 
activity.  How  hand  and  foot  strive  for  suitable 
activity  and  right  use! 

The  child  between  the  ages  of  six  and  nine 
months  strives  already  for  the  free  use  of  his  mem- 
bers— first  of  all,  for  that  of  his  arms  and  hands. 
But  since  now  the  child  is  an  observing  and  imi- 
tating being,  we  see  how  he  when  not  yet  nine 
months  old  imitates  little  movements  with  his 
hands  (turning  the  hands,  clapping,  moving  the 
fingers).  But  as  this  imitation  is  by  no  means 
merely  mechanical,  a  merely  external  copying,  as 
it  were,  it  is  evident  that  the  promoting  of  the 
child's  play  by  the  mother,  her  talking  to  him,  her 
entreating  wishes,  are  essentially  effective.  We 
recognize  from  this  statement  (connected  by  lan- 
guage) how  with  the  slightest  definite  activity  of 
the  child's  limbs  his  power  of  thought  and  the 
power  of  his  senses  are  also  active.  We  see  here 
again  three  activities  united  in  one,  and  we  also 
see  in  general  the  alluring  charm,  the  retroactive 
impulse,  and  the  comparing  activity  (which  three 
form  an  action  in  itself  single). 
/     The  influence  of  the  word  is  yet  more  height- 


MOTHER-PLAY  AND  NURSERY  SONGS.        53 

ened  by  the  law  of  movement  (the  rhythm)  and  by 
the  singing  tone  (the  mother's  way  of  singing),  be- 
cause, in  this  way,  the  word  has  an  influence  on 
the  mind,  on  the  thought,  by  means  of  the  feeling. . 
The  early,  harmonious,  joint  comprehension 
and  this  treatment  of  the  child  which  educates  by 
developing  find  in  the  Mother-Play  and  Nursery 
Songs  their  living  expression  and  actual  produc- 
tion, which  are  proportioned  to  the  different  stages 
of  childhood,  and  at  the  same  time  explain-  and 
point  out  the  inward  spirit  in  the  outward  appear- 
ance. The  Mother-Play  and  Nursery  Songs  pro- 
ceeded directly  from  my  observing  the  actual  life 
of  mother  and  child.  The  understanding  of  this 
book  was  therefore  supposed  to  be  easy  and  the 
work  was  committed  to  family  life  without  intro- 
ductory words.  But  as  often  as  the  life  of  the 
mother  and  child  and  the  reciprocal  life  of  both 
is  repeated  with  each  newborn  child  in  each  fam- 
ily experience  has  shown  that  the  life  of  the  child 
in  relation  to  the  whole  family  through  all  condi- 
tions of  life  is,  alas,  only  too  little  observed.  Hence 
the  Mother-Play  and  Nursery  Songs,  just  named 
(although  a  pure  demonstration  and  necessary  con- 
tinued development  of  actual  life),  has  been  hith- 
erto so  little  understood,  so  little  acknowledged, 
and  still  less  brought  into  the  family  and  used 
there.     After   our   own   diversified   use   of  it   for 

many  years,  and  especially  after  it  has  been  used 
6 


54      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

and  tested  in  many  ways  by  thoughtful  mothers, 
we  must,  without  regard  to  its  authorship,  recog- 
nize and  acknowledge  that  it  in  fact  not  only  in- 
dicates the  actual  starting  point  and  source  of  the 
true  conscious  training  of  children  and  human  be- 
ings which  educates  by  developing — necessarily  re- 
quired by  the  present  stage  of  the  cultivation  of 
man — that  it  not  only  shows  the  means,  way,  and 
manner,  the  object  and  aim,  of  such  training,  but 
also  actually  produces,  at  its  most  important  pe- 
riod a  family  life  which  fosters  childhood  in  such 
a  way. 

How  Lina  Learns  to  Read  is  a  continued  devel- 
opment of  the  earliest  observation  and  management 
of  child  nature.  May  this  chapter,  in  connection 
with  what  has  been  before  stated  and  demonstrated, 
serve  as  a  test  of  the  Mother-Play  and  I^ursery 
Songs  by  means  of  the  observing  of  the  life  of 
mother  and  child  separately,  as  well  as  in  connec- 
tion with  one  another  in  its  inner  foundation,  in  its 
fostering,  and  explaining  the  actual  life  of  the 
child  and  family,  and  in  its  effect  upon  and  result 
in  the  education  of  childhood  as  well  as  of  man 
in  general.  Such  a  test  would  at  least  aid  in  the 
true  understanding  of  the  above-named  book,  and 
also  in  the  thoughtful  use  of  it  in  the  family.  For 
through  the  comprehension  of  the  training  of  the 
human  being  which  educates  by  developing,  and 
which  is  founded  on  and  presented  in  the  above- 


RESULTS  OF  THE  TRUE   METHOD.  55 

named  book,  the  child  enters  into  his  right  relation 
to  himself  as  a  separate  being  enters  into  the  sur- 
rounding world  as  a  part  of  it  and  (by  the  help  of 
language)  to  the  uniting  and  single  spirit  which 
lives  in  all,  as  is  presented  by  the  whole  course  of 
the  guidance  and  treatment  of  Lina. 


II. 


THE    CHILD  S    DESIRE    FOR    SIGNS. INTRODUCTION. 

MAN    A    CREATIVE    BEING. A    CREATOR    IN    HIS 

SPHERE    OF    ACTION. EARLY    DEVELOPMENT    OF 

THE  CREATIVE  POWER  IN  THE  CHILD. 

We  recognize  the  fact  that  man,  especially  in 
early  childhood,  is  in  intimate,  united  interdepend- 
ence with  IsTatiire  and  its  course  of  development — a 
course  which  is  in  accordance  with  manifest  law. 
But  in  order  that  the  course  of  his  developing  edu- 
cation may  be  assured  and  clear  (therefore  for  his 
own  welfare),  it  is  at  least  not  less  important  to  re- 
gard man,  even  as  a  child,  as  respects  his  nature 
and  activity,  in  the  most  intimate  and  lively  con- 
nection with  the  Original  Cause,  the  Creator  of  all 
things,  and  with  the  oneness  of  his  creative  nature. 

To  view  the  child  as  united  to  Nature  gives  se- 
curity, conformity  to  law,  recognition  and  insight, 
firmness,  applicability,  dexterity,  and  extent  to  the 
education  of  the  child.  To  view  him  as  united 
with  God  gives  dignity,  truth,  clearness,  light,  in- 
finity   and    unity,    spiritualization,    sanctification, 

blessing  and  blessedness  to  that  education. 
56 


GOD'S  CREATIVE  ACTIVITY  ALSO  IN  MAN.     57 

But  in  what  way  did  and  does  the  eternal, 
Original  Cause — the  Creator  of  all  things — make 
himself  known  to  us?  In  what  way  does  he  reveal 
and  manifest  his  nature?  Just  by  his  eternal  ac- 
tion; by  his  eternal,  uninterrupted  creating;  by 
bringing  into  existence  from  the  eternal  spring  and 
fount  of  his  own  being ;  by  the  manifestation  of  the 
invisible  oneness  of  his  being  in  the  visible  appear- 
ance of  the  individual;  by  the  endless  revelation  of 
his  own  nature,  which  is  in  itself  one,  in  the  in- 
numerable manif oldness  of  individual  existence^ 

And  now  by  what  means  does  man,  even  as  a 
child,  make  known  his  being  in  that  which  is  phe- 
nomenal? his  nature  in  his  existence?  How  does 
he  make  himself  known,  and  thereby  cause  us  the 
purest  joy  (and,  in  the  course  of  development,  en- 
tertain and  even  astonish  us)  ?  Is  it  not  by  action, 
by  activity?  Indeed,  when  the  use  of  the  child's 
senses  is  but  partially  developed  we  must  recog- 
nize the  activity  of  the  child  to  be  comparatively 
observant,  usually,  indeed,  excited  from  without, 
but  yet  actually  and  finally  determined  by  the 
innermost  workings  of  the  soul  (therefore,  as  it 
were,  created  from  the  invisible  spring  and  fount 
of  the  soul)  to  create,  therefore  to  employ  himself, ; 
as  one  called  forth  from  hidden  being  into  exist- 
ence, into  perceptibility. 

In  this  steadfast  contemplation,  and  with  this 
view  of  life,  let  us  now  observe  the  voluntary  and 


58      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

spontaneous  expressions  of  life  in  the  child  scarcely 
a  month  old  in  regard  to  the  ultimate  innermost 
and  hidden,  constantly  invisible,  original  cause  of 
these  expressions.  Let  us  see  how  the  child,  with 
the  united  power  of  soul  and  intellect,  strives  to 
call  into  existence  for  himself  and,  as  it  were,  from 
himself,  that  which  does  not  yet  exist  for  him, 
which  is  not  yet  in  the  province  of  his  perception 
and  recognition.  The  child  by  this  striving  shows 
himself  to  be  a  creator  in  his  own  little  world.  If 
we  thus  perceive  and  experience,  we  must  recognize 
(being  forced  to  the  recognition  by  the  perception, 
experience,  and  actuality  of  what  we  have  ob- 
served) what  indeed  shows  itself  already  as  the  re- 
sult of  pure  thought:  viz.,  that  man,  even  in  child- 
hood, proves  himself  by  his  creative  activity  (which 
is  conditioned  in  the  innermost  parts  of  his  being, 
as  it  originates  in  the  inscrutable  Eternal,  in  the 
Original  Cause  and  Creator  of  all  things)  to  be 
like  his  Original  Cause  in  that  he  is  a  creating, 
creative  being.  And  thus  man,  in  accordance  with 
his  nature,  in  and  by  this  creating  (which  shows 
itself  in  the  child  as  an  employment  of  self)  shows 
himself  to  be  related  to  his  Creator? 

But  now  in  what  single  phenomena,  in  what 
manner,  and  by  what  means  does  this  strengthen- 
ing and  elevating,  invigorating  and  encourag- 
ing, purifying  and  blessing,  even  hallowing  rela- 
tionship of  the  child  to  God  as  his  Creator,  and  con- 


THE  CHILD  ENDOWS  ALL  OBJECTS  WITH  LIFE.   59 

sequentlj  as  his  Father,  make  itself  more  fully 
known  ? 

The  genuinely  healthy  child  will  be  always  ac- 
tive, he  will  employ  himself.  Why?  He  wishes 
to  make  something  so  that  his  inward  desire  may 
also  appear  externally.  He  wishes  that  what  is 
hidden  within  him,  and  lives  in  him,  may  also  out- 
wardly exist.  Therefore  as  the  inner  conceptions, 
the  intellectual  perceptions  and  comprehensions,  the 
images  of  the  soul,  change  in  the  child,  so  also  the 
activities  of  his  life,  which  are  taking  form,  change 
with  equal  quickness. 

But  now  what  is  the  further  cause  of  all  ac- 
tivity in  the  child?  It  is  just  life,  as  life  is  the 
first  cause  of  all  existence  in  God.  Therefore  the 
child  invests  with  life  whatever  he  sees — that  is, 
he  not  only  anticipates,  feels,  and  experiences  life 
in  all,  but  he  even  attributes  conscious  life,  will 
power,  conscious,  self -determining  will  power  to  all. 
As  all  things  emanate  from  the  self-determining 
will  of  God  (the  First  Cause  of  all  things),  and  as 
life  and  that  which  has  life  and  which  veils  life 
proceeded  from  God  only,  so  the  child  sees  and  an- 
ticipates hidden  life,  and  that  which  has  life  in  all 
his  surroundings.  This  fact  shows  definitely  the 
relationship  of  the  child  in  his  activity  to  his  First 
Cause  and  Father,  as  the  Creator  of  all  things. 

Yet  the  proofs  founded  on  facts  of  the  child's 
inward  relationship  rise  ever  higher.     The  child 


60      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

not  only  anticipates  and  imagines  life  in  the  ob- 
jects around  him  as  soon  as  he  places  them  in  refer- 
ence to  himself,  and  himself  in  reference  to  them, 
but  all  which  proceeds  from  the  outward  and  in- 
ward life  of  the  child  appears  to  him  immediately 
in  completely  finished  animate  form.  Thus  in  the 
things  he  makes  or  with  which  he  plays  he  sees  the 
kitty,  the  birdie,  the  little  fish,  etc.  The  lambs 
are  represented  now  by  white  beans,  now  by  the 
flower  buds  of  the  field  or  pasture.  Sticks  must 
realize  the  idea  of  trees.  Blocks,  etc.,  must  be  per- 
sons. Indeed,  even  the  child's  own  fingers  must 
spread  themselves  out  and  become  now  different 
children,  now  little  fishes,  now  little  birdies,  etc. 
Thus  the  child,  whose  life  is  a  whole  in  itself,  at 
first  always  represents  life  as  a  whole  in  the  objects 
around  him,  since  each  and  every  thing  which  has 
entered  into  existence  from  the  being,  life,  and  ac- 
tion of  God  the  Creator  is  a  whole,  and  is  also  a 
part  of  the  great  All-life. 

Not  until  a  later  period,  when  the  examining 
power  of  his  reason  is  more  developed  and  his  crea- 
tive and  creating  power  has  become  more  independ- 
ent as  well  as  spontaneous,  does  the  child  compare 
and  separate. 

I*Tow,  in  what  sequence  and  in  what  way  does 
the  child  early  reveal  and  manifest  his  impulse  to 
activity,  to  employment,  and  to  representation? 
How  does  he  reveal  his  operative,  creative  power? 


THE  CHILD'S  FIRST   CREATIVE  IMPULSE.       61 

The  first  object  of  the  tendency  to  activity  and 
employment,  the  actual  attraction  for  forming,  is 
the  child's  own  limbs,  often  its  whole  body.  He 
joins  his  little  fingers  and  hands  in  different  posi- 
tions, and  even  seeks  to  represent  different  objects 
by  them,  as  also  by  his  whole  body.  This  is,  as 
it  were,  the  first  development  and  preparation  of 
the  limbs  and  body  for  creating  representations 
by  other  objects  and  materials. 

These  other  objects  are,  primarily,  solid,  bulky, 
capable  of  being  grasped  by  the  hand,  firm.  They 
are  at  first  tested  by  the  child  as  to  their  power 
of  standing  alone,  their  movableness,  their  pliancy, 
their  capacity  for  being  united,  the  possibility  of 
easily  joining  them  together  and  again  dividing 
them  from  one  another.  Spheres,  wooden  blocks, 
stones,  the  ball,  are  therefore  the  first  playthings 
of  children. 

By  using  them  the  child  will  produce  outside  of 

himself  that  which  he   conceives  within  himself. 

This  is  a  proof  of  his  tendency  to  do  something,  to 

produce   (his  creative   impulse),   and   a   token   by 

which  he  shows  this  impulse.     Therefore,  even  the 

indication  of  the  child's  activity  is  important,  but 

his  later  efforts  to  draw  are  yet  more  so. 

Ah !  this  little  child,  I  see, 
Would  e'en  now  an  artist  be. 

Perhaps  with  the  second,  certainly  the  third  year, 
this   bulky    solid    form    material   is    replaced    by 


62      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

other  materials  of  two  different  kinds.  The  one 
is  yet  more  bulky,  but  can  be  easily  impressed. 
It  consists  of  soft  loam  and  wet  sand,  water  itself 
in  its  movableness,  its  tractability,  and  capability 
of  being  guided,  and  the  air  with  its  power  of  mov- 
ing and  turning.  The  other  consists  of  less  bulky 
and  solid  objects:  small  flat  pieces  of  wood,  little 
slats,  smooth  paper,  or  sticks  and  thread.  Finally, 
the  child  chooses  dry  sand,  sawdust,  plate  glass 
moistened  or  breathed  upon.  He  also  chooses  ob- 
jects which  by  friction  leave  a  mark,  such  as  slate 
and  slate  pencil,  paper,  lead  pencils,  colored  chalk 
or  crayons,  and  colored  liquids — that  is,  the  colors 
themselves.  Hence  the  child's  desire  for  drawing 
and  painting.  Both  are  quite  essential,  developing 
means  of  education  and  cultivation  of  the  child  and 
man.  But  singing  is  no  less  essential.  Eor  even 
the  easily  resulting  and  again  easily  vanishing, 
echoing  tone  produced  in  one's  own  throat  or  by 
one's  own  members,  or  by  ringing  and  resonant  ob- 
jects (glass,  bell,  metal,  etc.),  must  serve  for  crea- 
tive representations  of  inner  conceptions,  sensations, 
feelings,  and  indeed  ideas. 

Thus  we  see  how  an  advance  is  shown  in  the 
child's  creative  representations  as  the  means  of  play 
lessen  in  materiality.  The  forms  made  with  the 
solid  material  often  give  but  a  slight  outward'  rep- 
resentation of  an  object,  but  were  mostly  called 
forth  by  fancy.     The  forms  produced  by  soft  ma- 


PLAY  LEADS  TO  S^LF  KNOWLEDGE.  63 

terial  showed  more  the  inward  connection  by  the 
outward  form.  The  sticks  rudely  represented  the 
outlines.  These  appeared  more  complete  in  the 
sand  and  dust,  as  well  as  on  the  pane  of  glass  which 
has  been  dimmed  by  the  breath  when  the  forms 
have  been  made  by  the  easily  movable  finger;  but 
they  are  yet  more  sure,  precise,  and  complete,  but 
less  material,  when  slate  pencil,  lead  pencil,  etc., 
are  used  on  slate  and  paper.  Yet  the  echoing  tone 
in  its  harmonious  and  rhythmical,  as  well  as  in  its 
melodious  combinations,  expresses  directly  the 
higher  and  the  highest  feeling  of  life  in  its  unity, 
one  part  flowing  into  another.  It  is  the  soul  which 
here  speaks  to  the  soul;  the  life  which  speaks  di- 
rectly to  the  life  through  the  life  (especially  con- 
nected with  the  composite,  immaterial  word), 
whereby  the  spirit  speaks  to  the  spirit.  But  in  the 
spirit  and  by  the  spirit  man  recognizes  himself  as 
a  creative  being;  he  recognizes  God  as  the  Creator, 
and  he  recognizes  ISTature  as  that  which  is  created 
from  God.  Thus  we  see  and  recognize  that  we, 
by  fostering  the  creative  power  in  the  child  early  in 
his  life  and  through  the  stages  of  development  in- 
dicated by  the  child  himself,  raise  him  to  knowl- 
edge of  himself,  of  i^ature,  and  of  God,  and  to  the 
recognition  of  himself  as  a  child  of  God;  but  "  by 
their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them,"  says  the  highest 
educator  of  humanity.  So  we  must  recognize 
here  that  we,  by  early,  continuously,  and  symmet- 


64      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

rically  developing  and  cultivating  man's  creating 
power  in  conformity  to  law,  raise  him  to  the  true 
dignity  of  human  nature,  to  fitness  for  life,  to 
accordance  with  ^^ature,  to  genuine  all-sided  union 
of  life,  consequently  union  with  God — therefore  to 
true  peace,  to  pure  joy,  and  to  constant  freedom. 

The  Child's  Desire  for  Typical  Representa- 
tion. 

The  object  of  the  previous  essay  is  to  lead  us 
to  observe  the  child  and  the  child-world,  and  to  per- 
ceive in  both  the  truth  that  man  is  a  creative  being. 
If  we  now  look  back  again  upon  both,  we  see  that 
the  child's  activity,  taken  collectively,  from  his  first 
spontaneous  movement  to  the  stage  at  which  he  has 
gained  the  power  to  make  a  life  of  representation, 
of  the  life  of  feeling  and  sensation  (that  is,  up  to 
the  age  of  completed  childhood,  therefore  up  to  his 
sixth  or  seventh  year),  has  its  foundation  in  the 
effort,  first  of  all,  to  make  known  first  his  inner 
life  in  and  by  means  of  outward  phenomena  as 
soon  as  it  comes  to  his  perception,  to  place  this  life 
objectively  before  himself  and  externally  to  him- 
self; and  next  to  appropriate  the  inner  life  of  things 
around  him  (that  is,  to  bring  himself  to  knowledge 
of,  and  thus  to  insight  into  this  inner  life,  in  order 
to  reproduce  it  spontaneously),  and  indeed  to  come 
to  a  knowledge  of  it  by  this  reproduction. 

In  a  twofold  direction,  indeed,  but  in  a  self- 


THE  CHILD'S  FEEBLENESS.  65 

determining  way,  which  is  in  itself  single,  the 
child's  action  here  depends  always  upon  the  com- 
prehension and  manifestation  of  the  inner  in  and 
by  means  of  the  outer.  It  depends,  as  it  were, 
npon  a  creation  which  emanates  from  the  inner  be- 
ing and  shows  itself  in  that  which  is  present  and 
apparent,  therefore  upon  an  actual  creation;  for 
the  spirit,  the  life,  hereby  acts  as  the  determining 
power  and  conditions  the  material. 

Yet  as  certainly  as  this  uninterrupted  self-re- 
vealing, creating  activity  of  the  child  is  in  its  nat- 
ural healthy  condition  a  general  one,  so  certain  is 
it  also  that  the  power  of  the  child  to  exercise  this 
activity  is  still  very  weak  and  slight.  But  that  he 
may  not  feel  himself  restrained  from  using  his 
power  by  perceiving  its  weakness,  the  child  who  is 
undisturbed  in  his  development  always  feels  that 
his  power  is  at  least  great  enough  to  accomplish 
that  for  which  he  strives.  Therefore  (as  every  one 
who  has  w^atched  the  impulses  of  healthy  children 
will  have  been  convinced)  the  as  yet  slight  power 
of  the  child  is  not  in  a  condition  to  obstruct  his 
impulse  to  creative  activity,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
he  seeks  to  strengthen  and  elevate  this  impulse  by 
increasing  demands  on  the  efficiency  of  his  power. 
We  must  not  disturb  the  child  in  this  effort,  though 
it  be  often  apparently  fruitless.  If  he  does  not 
actually  accomplish  anything  outwardly,  yet  his 
inner  power  of  creation  grows  by  his  efforts.     But, 


66      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

as  a  rule,  the  child  will  himself  seek  out  material 
by  the  use  of  which  he  can  gratify  his  impulse  to 
represent  by  creating,  or,  in  other  words,  his  im- 
pulse to  creative  formation.  These  materials,  by 
the  aid  of  steadfast  will,  will  finally  submit  to  the 
influence  of  the  yet  unpracticed  arm  and  the  little 
hand,  as  we  have  already  shown. 

It  is  now  just  as  indispensable  that  those  who 
are  around  him  should,  by  promoting  and  fostering 
it,  meet  this  effort  and  impulse  of  the  child  and  his 
activity  as  it  is  essential  that  the  moist  warmth 
of  the  earth  should  offer  to  the  germinating  kernel 
and  the  clear,  shining  light  of  the  sun  to  the  bud 
which  is  striving  to  unfold,  the  right  conditions  for 
the  complete  development  of  their  powers. 

Now  what  Nature,  the  mother  of  all,  gives  to 
her  children  that  they  may  reveal  what  is  within 
them,  the  conscious  love  of  parents  must  supply 
for  their  children,  and  the  love  and  insight  of 
adults  must  provide  for  the  children  of  the  exist- 
ing generation  for  the  free  development  of  their 
nature.  "  Draw  a  mousie  for  me  or  a  little  house," 
"  Paint  a  birdie  or  a  flower  for  me,"  is  therefore 
likewise  one  of  the  first  requests  of  the  child  as  soon 
as  he  can  make  known  by  words  his  will  and  his 
inward  impulse.  He  also  begs,  "  Do  tell  me  a  little 
story,"  or  definitely,  "  Do  tell  me  the  little  story 
about  the  birdies  who  loved  their  mother."  By 
this  means  the  impulse  to  representation  and  the 


DRAWING  THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  AGENCY.  67 

power  of  creation  grow  in  the  child.  K'ow,  as 
soon  as  he  can  master  any  kind  of  suitable,  plastic, 
flexible  material  he  tries  to  show  his  impulse  and 
his  power  by  repi^esenting,  forming,  and  creating — 
by  employing  himself  in  manifold  ways. 

ISTow,  although  all  that  the  child  does  is  a  cre- 
ating from  himself  (even  his  plays  with  the  most 
palpable,  most  material  substances — cubes,  blocks, 
pebbles,  etc. — being  a  kind  of  painting  or  drawing 
of  his  inner  self;  that  is,  of  that  which  lives  within 
him),  yet  it  is  painting  and  drawing  in  a  narrower 
sense,  even  if  it  be  only  the  drawing  in  the  earth 
and  on  the  pane  of  glass  moistened  by  the  breath, 
which  has  been  previously  mentioned,  that  attract 
the  child  above  all  and  ever  anew  as  a  means  of 
representation  of  his  inner  self.  But  why?  Because 
this  gives  to  the  operative  impulse  to  formation 
and  effort  in  the  child  an  all-embracing  satisfaction; 
for  the  child  can  by  the  drawing  just  as  well  repre- 
sent a  star  as  it  shines  in  the  sky  as  the  flower  which 
blossoms  in  his  little  flower  bed.  He  can  thereby 
just  as  well  represent  a  tree  showing  itself  in  the 
woods  as  the  flying  birdie  sitting  on  a  tree  or  flutter- 
ing its  wings  and  rising  into  the  air. 

But  this  requirement  of  the  child  to  avail  him- 
self of  the  most  easily  movable,  the  finest  and  small- 
est material  for  his  producing  and  drawing,  for  the 
showing  of  his  little  creations,  for  the  manifesta- 
tion of  his  power  of  creating,  is  now  fully  in  har- 


68      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

mony  with  the  doings  of  ISTatiire  and  with  the  phe- 
nomena of  N'ature.  For  Nature  also  creates  her 
works  from,  and  represents  them  by,  the  most  easily 
movable  materials — light,  air,  water,  earth,  dust. 
And  so  the  desire  and  will  of  the  child  are  again 
shown  to  be  neither  individual  nor  yet  isolated, 
but  to  be  a  necessarily  postulated  living  whole  in 
itself  single,  which  is  creating  and  has  created,  by 
which  showing  the  child  proves  himself  to  be  a 
part  of  this  whole. 

Hence  we  see  that  even  from  this  point  of  view 
the  efforts  as  well  as  the  desire  of  the  child  to 
prove  himself,  by  the  aid  of  the  objects  mentioned, 
to  be  a  representing,  forming  being  must  be  sacred 
to  us.  For,  as  the  child  proves  himself  in  this  way 
to  be  a  creative  being,  he  also  shows  himself  just 
as  surely,  on  the  other  hand,  to  be  a  member  of  the 
great  living  whole  and  of  all  life.  He  is  destined 
to  develop  himself  as  a  creating  and  as  a  created 
being,  in  and  by  means  of  the  great  living  whole, 
in  order  thus  to  have  knowledge  of  the  Creator  and 
the  creation  (recognizing  the  Creator  and  under- 
standing Nature),  and  therefore  to  comprehend  and 
to  bring  himself  to  consciousness  of  his  own  nature, 
since  by  what  he  does  he  stands  intermediately  be- 
tween the  two.  He  is  therefore  destined,  like  Na- 
ture, and  like  the  Creator  of  both  Nature  and  him- 
self, to  create  the  great  from  the  small,  and  by 
means  of  the  small  in  constant  coherence  with  the 


THE  EDUCATIVE  FUNCTION  OP  DRAWING.       69 

universal  life,  to  effect  good,  to  form  the  beautiful, 
to  show  the  true,  and  to  do  the  right. 

If  now  all  these  activities  of  the  child  previous- 
ly mentioned,  and  the  different  materials  used  by 
him,  admit  of  this  mode  of  contemplation,  and  show 
him  as  creating  (with  which  doubtless  later  and 
further  presentations  of  the  nature  of  the  child  as 
a  creative  being  will  be  connected),  yet  it  is 
above  all  the  art  of  drawing  by  which  the  child  in 
his  circle  already  proves  himself  to  be  a  creating  be- 
ing, because  with  the  slightest  mastery  of  the  ma- 
terial and  with  the  exertion  of  the  smallest  amount 
of  physical  power,  there  can  most  easily  and  quick- 
ly be  shown  recognizably  by  the  drawing  that 
which  the  child  would  like  to  represent  from  him- 
self, that  which  he  would  like  to  create.  Therefore 
now  the  development  of  the  power  of  drawing  in 
the  child  belongs  to  one  of  the  most  essential  mem- 
bers of  the  educational  training  which  develops  the 
human  being  and  is  one  of  the  most  essential  bases 
of  the  general  education  of  humanity,  of  the  edu- 
cation of  the  human  race  toward  union  of  life  on 
all  sides.  Such  an  education  has  long  been  dimly 
anticipated  by  humanity,  and  so  is  now  longingly 
expected. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  power  of  drawing 
has  not  been  completely  recognized  hitherto,  and 
that  the  introduction  and  practice  of  drawing  has 
not  been  generally  considered  to  be  an  essential 


70      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

part  of  genuine  human  training  and  has  not  been 
received  as  an  essential  means  of  educational  train- 
ing, humanity,  especially  in  childhood  and  youth, 
has  up  to  this  time  been  cut  off  from  one  of  its  most 
comprehensive  means  of  training. 

Slight  as  the  necessary  expenditure  of  power 
in  drawing  seems  to  be,  yet  drawing  in  its  ap- 
plication and  execution  makes  a  demand  upon  the 
whole  human  being,  consequently  on  the  child  in 
all  the  references  of  his  development  and  training. 
Even  the  correct  position  of  the  drawing  fingers 
and  hand  for  spontaneous  use  requires  a  correct, 
suitably  free  position  of  the  whole  right  arm;  this 
again  indispensably  requires  a  corresponding  posi- 
tion of  the  other  limbs  and  of  the  whole  body  of 
the  child  who  is  drawing  if  he  wishes  to  represent 
what  he  creates  with  freedom  of  bodily  action  as 
well  as  with  a  free  spirit.  For  a  freely  active,  skilled 
use  of  the  body  necessarily  presupposes  a  free, 
skilled  spirit  in  the  circuit  of  that  activity.  The 
two  condition  one  another  reciprocally. 

As  therefore  true,  free,  beautiful  drawing  re- 
quires that  the  limbs  and  body  be  symmetrically  de- 
veloped, it  also  demands  the  spontaneous,  skilled 
use  of  the  senses,  and  it  no  less  demands  the  sense 
of  hearing  and  that  of  feeling  than  that  of  sight. 
This  wholly  satisfactory  training  of  body,  limbs, 
and  senses,  and  consequently  the  development  re- 
quired for  drawing,  conditions  in  the  same  way 


WHAT  DRAWING  DEMANDS  OF  THE  CHILD.       71 

a  harmoniously  unfolded  soul,  a  feeling,  experien- 
cing mind,  as  well  as  a  thoughtfully  comparing, 
intelligent,  and  perceptive  intellect,  formed  judg- 
ment, correct  conclusion,  and  so,  finally,  an  idea 
(more  or  less  clear,  at  least  more  and  more  improv- 
ing during  the  representing  activity)  of  that  which 
is  to  be  formed. 

But,  again,  this  demands  from,  and  forms  in 
the  child  who  is  drawing  observation  and  attention, 
the  comprehension  of  the  whole,  recollection  and 
memory,  the  gift  of  connection  and  invention, 
fancy.  In  general,  it  enters  on  the  path  of  corre- 
sponding use  of  man's  total  power  of  formation, 
enriching  the  spirit  with  clear  conceptions,  the 
mind  with  true  thoughts,  and  the  soul  with  beauti- 
ful ideas — the  said  conceptions,  thoughts,  and  ideas 
being  the  fundamental  conditions  of  creating  the 
animate  and  active.  For  such  creating  the  child 
already  yearns  and  strives. 

The  drawing  which,  to  the  injury  of  the  chil- 
dren, has  been  hitherto  neglected  in  their  early  edu- 
cation, is  of  general,  universal,  and  comprehensive 
importance  in  the  training  of  the  human  being. 
As  a  complete  presentation  of  his  creative  power, 
it  renders  it  possible  for  man,  by  the  strong  im- 
pression of  pure  humanity,  to  become  within  him- 
self, and  by  his  own  action,  a  second  creator  of  him- 
self, as  well  as  a  creator  and  outward  representor 
of  pure  humanity  and  human  nature.     Drawing 


Y2      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

also  makes  it  possible  for  man  to  rise  from  the  cor- 
rect comprehension  and  cultivation  of  that  which 
is  corporeal,  material,  and  sentient,  through  sense, 
modesty,  and  morality,  to  true  union  with  himself, 
as  well  as  with  Nature,  with  humanity,  and  with 
God  in  f  eeliug,  thought,  desire,  and  action. 

This  must  here  suffice  to  lead  to  the  recognition 
of  drawing  as  an  essential  means  of  educating 
man  up  to  completeness — his  constant  vocation  on 
this  earth — conformably  to  the  unity  and  univer- 
sality of  his  nature  and  the  use  of  his  creative 
power  as  an  individual  being  and  also  as  a  member 
of  humanity. 

We  have  just  given  prominence  to  the  fact  that 
the  recognized  goal  can  not  be  reached  by  one- 
sided development,  but  only  by  symmetrical  de- 
velopment of  both  body  and  spirit. 

Above  all,  we  must  let  the  child  be  early  in- 
terpenetrated by  the  feeling  that  a  free,  sure,  firm, 
position  of  the  whole  body  not  only  makes  possible 
a  free,  easy  use  of  all  his  limbs  and  senses,  but  ren- 
ders possible  such  a  use  at  the  same  time  with  a 
pleasant  feeling  of  tranquillity,  whether  he  sits  or 
stands. 

In  general,  all  in  which  the  child's  active  will 
is  required  and  necessary  must  at  first  be  attended 
by  a  pure  feeling  of  pleasantness  (through  as  pure  a 
feeling  of  well-being  as  that  with  which  the  child 
clings  to  the  mother's  breast  and  is  pressed  to  her 


THE  CULTIVATION  OF  THE  HAND.  Y3 

heart).  With,  this  feeling  of  pleasantness  must  be 
connected  at  first  the  becoming  accustomed  to  the 
right,  and  later  on  also  the  feeling  of  the  right  and 
correct.  This  feeling  also  awakens  early  in  the 
child,  often  gradually,  often  strongly,  but  always 
easily.  This  also,  like  the  feeling  of  pleasantness, 
exerts  a  determining  influence  upon  what  he  does, 
and  upon  the  manner  in  which  he  acts.  The  devel- 
opment and  cultivation  of  the  child  to  a  creating 
being,  even  in  the  special  cultivation  of  the  crea- 
tive power  in  and  by  means  of  the  drawing,  must 
therefore  proceed  from  the  careful  fostering  of 
these  two  feelings  (the  one  of  which  appears  more 
bodily  and  sentient,  the  other  more  intellectual  and 
spiritual)  early  arousing  in  the  child  or  at  least  soon 
to  awaken. 

Here  now  with  the  firm  holding  and  free  posi- 
tion of  the  body  begins  the  cultivation  of  the  arms, 
hands,  and  fingers.  This  was  formerly  done,  in 
general,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Mother-Play 
and  Nursery  Songs,  and  is  now  carried  on  with  the 
special  object  of  cultivating  the  above-named  mem- 
bers for  drawing  as  a  creating  power  and  activity. 
This  cultivation  of  arms,  hands,  and  fingers  goes  on 
in  rest  as  well  as  in  movement.  This  movement 
is  in  straight  as  well  as  in  curved  lines,  and  in  all 
directions.  The  drawing  is  at  first  wholly  in  free 
space.  Later,  it  is  done  so  that  the  traces  of  the 
movement  (especially  if  it  be  a  continuous  one) 


74      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

may  be  made  perceptible  upon  the  surface — for 
example,  on  the  earth,  in  sand,  in  dust,  or  in  fine 
sawdust,  which  has  been  spread  on  a  suitable  plane ; 
and  yet  later  by  the  use  of  objects,  such  as  cljklk, 
slate  pencil,  lead  pencil,  etc.,  which  leave  the  traces 
of  the  movement  as  lines  on  blackboard,  ^ate,  or 
paper. 

This  last  appearance  is  now  (if  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  precise  object  be  reached)  the  drawing 
(showing)  of  the  lines,  first  of  all  the  curved,  and 
afterward  the  straight  lines,  with  the  practice  of 
which,  therefore,  the  development  and  cultivation 
of  the  child's  impulse,  capacity,  and  talent  for  cre- 
ating drawing  must  begin. 

Thus  the  comprehension  and  representation — 
that  is,  the  drawing — of  the  curved  and  straight 
lines  are  not  only  closely  connected  with  the  simple 
movements  of  the  limbs,  but  proceed  directly  from 
these  movements  combined  with  consciousness  of 
the  purpose.  Both  the  curved  and  straight  lines 
appear  in  different  positions.  The  latter  appear  as 
vertical  and  horizontal,  and  as  oblique  or  diagonal 
lines. 

Yet,  as  we  recognized,  the  drawing,  being  the 
complete  creating  activity  of  man,  must  proceed 
through  the  attainment  of  consciousness  and  must 
be  accompanied  by  consciousness.  But,  again, 
both  consciousness  and  its  attainment  begin  with 
speech  and  proceed  from  words.      Therefore  the 


MAN  A  CREATIVE  BEING.  75 

showing  (pointing  out)  and  the  testifying  (awaken- 
ing consciousness)  word  must  be  connected  with  the 
drawing.  But  since  here  also  the  activity  of  the 
child,  as  always,  proceeds  through  feeling,  or,  if 
the  other  mode  of  expression  be  preferred,  through 
the  feelings  of  the  pleasant,  the  beautiful,  and  the 
right,  etc.,  the  growing  activity  of  the  child  should 
not  only  be  accompanied  by  spoken,  but  by  sung 
words,  thereby  leading  to  the  right  and  beautiful. 
We  therefore  connect  the  drawing  of  round 
(curved)  as  well  as  straight  lines  with  the  explan- 
atory word  or  with  the  animating  little  song  (for 
instance,  the  ball  and  sphere  songs  before  men- 
tioned), in  order  not  merely  to  awaken  but  to  foster 
and  strengthen  the  whole,  collective  activity  of  the 
child,  as  will  soon  be  stated.  While  the  pencil 
moves  in  a  circling  manner  on  the  slate  these 
words,  for  example,  can  be  sung: 

Around,  around ;  how  much  I  enjoy  it ! 
My  pencil  I  turn  ;  thus  I  like  to  employ 
Thou,  too,  must  enjoy  it. 


Or: 


Do  see  the  straight,  straight  line 
My  pencil  makes  so  fine. 


With  the  round,  as  well  as  with  the  straight 
lines,  besides  the  position  and  direction,  the  manner 
of  origination  or  forming  should  be  considered  in 
reference  to  the  one  who  is  drawing — from  the 
hand,  to  the  hand;  or  outward,  inward;  up,  down; 


76      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

down,  up;  or  the  opposite  originations  may  be 
united  in  a  zigzag  or  winding  course;  this,  as  ex- 
perience shows,  gives  great  pleasure  to  the  children, 
especially  if  to  the  explaining  word,  which  speaks 
to  the  intellect  of  the  child,  be  added  the  loving 
tone,  which  speaks  to  his  heart,  and  so  as  the  flow- 
ers blossom  with  the  sun's  rays  which  shine  upon 
and  warm  them  in  the  morning,  there  result  here 
the  many  kinds  of  combinations  of  lines  by  the 
help  of  the  clearing  and  pleasing  words  of  song : 

Zic,  zac,  zic,  zac, 

Goes  my  pencil  fleet ; 
Tic,  tac,  tic,  tac, 

Sounds  the  round  clock's  beat. 

Or,  with  winding  curved  lines: 

So  the  line  winds  along 
With  a  song,  with  a  song, 
And  the  time  seems  not  long. 

Yet  soon  these  lines,  the  drawing  of  which  is 
now  his  object,  become  to  the  child,  who  is  guided 
by  them  to  thoughtful  notice  of  that  which  sur- 
rounds him,  again  a  means  of  further  representa- 
tions— that  is,  material  for  representation.  Thus, 
for  example,  the  circular  lines  which  the  child  can 
now  draw  with  considerable  facility  become  to  him 
the  image  of  the  moon,  the  sun,  a  target,  even  an 
apple,  a  ball,  a  sphere,  a  hoop,  a  ring,  etc.  He 
has  seen  in  the  meadow,  in  the  garden,  and  in  the 
field  the  three-leaved  clover,  with  its  rounded  single 


MAN  A  CREATIVE  BEING.  77 

leaves,  and  the  five-leaved  flowers  of  the  most  dif- 
ferent kinds,  with  their  petals  set  round  in  a  circle, 
and  he  easily  represents  them  by  winding  circular 
lines  (as  well  as  rayed  flowers  and  the  many  kinds 
of  feathered  leaves  which  are  often  quite  rounded; 
for  instance,  the  pinnated  leaves  of  the  creeping 
rosebush,  a  kind  of  field  rose,  the  acacia,  etc.,  or 
well-paired  cauline  leaves,  as,  for  example,  in  the 
beautiful  sunny  blossoms  of  the  moneywort).  But 
the  child's  impulse  to  represent  by  drawing  ven- 
tures also  upon  the  animate.  He  tries  to  repre- 
sent the  cony,  with  its  rounded  form,  the  mouse, 
the  lamb,  the  dove,  etc.  The  child  has  exercised 
himself  essentially  by  means  of  his  round  play- 
thing, in  the  clear,  sure  perception  and  the  repre- 
sentation of  that  which  is  round  in  form. 

In  the  same  way  that  he  was  attracted  by  Na- 
ture the  child  is  also  attracted  by  the  human  being, 
by  human  life,  and  so  by  his  fostering  place — the 
house!  "  Draw  me  a  little  house!  "  We  have  al- 
ready given  prominence  to  this  request  of  the  child. 
He  now  tries  to  fulfill  this  wish  himself.  Now 
new  and  differing  demands  are  made  upon  the 
child :  First,  the  more  acute  perception  of  the  differ- 
ent positions  and  directions,  especially  of  the  right 
lines  as  defining  the  positions  of  the  oblique  lines; 
then  the  relation  of  the  single  lines  as  parts  of  a 
whole  to  a  uniting  and  limiting  middle  point,  line, 
etc. ;  finally,  and  lastly,  the  exact  perception  of  the 


78      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

relative  length  of  the  lines  by  comparison  with  a 
fixed,  defined  measure. 

These  three  indispensable  requirements  (posi- 
tion or  direction,  size,  and  drawing  point)  for  cor- 
rect and  beautifully  formed  drawings  indicate  that 
the  eye  should  be  cultivated  as  a  measurer.  The 
solution  of  these  requirements  must  therefore  pro- 
ceed from  the  capacity  of  the  eye  for  correct  per- 
ception (as  did  the  representation  and  execution  of 
the  line  from  the  training  of  all  the  joints  of  the 
arm)  as  well  as  from  the  cultivation  of  the  whole 
body. 

But  the  drawing  in  the  network  is  the  ultimate 
reference  which  receives  and,  as  it  were,  forms  the 
outer  world  in  the  eye.  Name  and  thing  show 
us  here  in  a  remarkable  manner,  and,  by  the  child 
himself,  the  way  to  cultivate  the  child's  eye,  and 
thus  to  cultivate  his  sense  of  the  perception  and 
representation  of  the  comparatively  correct  positions, 
sizes,  and  uniting  middle.  This  is  a  netted  surface 
given  to  the  child,  an  exteriorly  placed  net  on 
which  he  can  at  first  with  certainty  represent  its 
lines  as  the  condition  of  bounded  surface  formation, 
and,  first  of  all,  the  straight  lines  in  various  posi- 
tions and  lengths,  and  can  thus  bring  himself  to 
consciousness  (through  simple,  continuously  pro- 
gressing multiplication  of  a  line  which  is  compara- 
tively the  smallest  and  serves  as  a  measure — the 
line  of  the  first  single  length).     Later  proceed  from 


MAN  A   CREATIVE  BEING. 


79 


this  the  sharper  perception  and  conscious  correct 
representation  of  the  curved  lines,  the  circle  again 
being  first. 

This  multiplication  of  the  first  single  measur- 
ing length  (relatively  the  smallest),  applied  first  of 
all  to  straight  lines,  concludes  with  lines  of  five 
times  the  length  of  the  first  line,  which  gives  the 
measure.  This  number  is  determined  for  the  child 
by  the  number  of  fingers  on  each  hand. 

For  the  purpose  of  presenting  such  a  netted 
surface,  which  will,  first  of  all,  cultivate  the  eye  of 
the  drawing  child  for  the  perception  and  represen- 
tation of  the  relations  of  direction,  position,  and 
size  of  the  lines,  it  is  best  to  use  a  smooth  slate, 
on  one  side  of  which  a  network  has  been  formed  by 
cutting  vertical  and  horizontal  lines  at  always  the 
same  distance  of  the  quarter  inch  with  the  inverted 
sharp  point  of  a  knife. 


The  distance  from  one  of  the  parallel  lines  to 
the  next  is  indicated  and  measured  by  a  right  line 


80      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

of  single  length  or  size,  and  so  progressively  the  dis- 
tance of  the  fifth  line  from  the  next  is  a  right  line 
of  fivefold  length  or  size. 

As  now  the  child's  consciousness  of  his  power 
of  presenting  things  by  drawing  generally  begins 
with  the  perception  and  representation  of  the 
straight  line,  so  the  perception  and  representation 
(that  is,  the  drawing)  of  straight  lines  begins  with 
the  vertical  line,  and  all  the  relations  of  size  and 
grouping  are  first  carried  on  with  the  vertical  lines 
before  the  child  advances  to  horizontal  and  oblique 
lines. 

Thus  the  child  should  first  draw  many  times  a 
vertical  line  the  length  of  one  square,  then  of  two 
squares,  and  so  on  up  to  five,  always  at  equal  dis- 
tances, each  time  separating  the  rows  from  each 
other  by  a  distance  of  two  horizontal  lines. 

The  drawing  and  correct  measuring  of  the  lines 
is  now  done  by  the  child  at  first  in  the  marked  lines 
in  the  required  position  and  extension.  In  this 
way  and  by  this  use  the  net  serves  to  train  at  the 
same  time  the  child's  eye,  hand,  and  fingers.  But 
not  this  only,  for  the  inner  law  (which  is  mani- 
foldly expressed  in  this  net  as  an  outward  law) 
trains  the  thought  and  spirit  of  the  child,  since  by 
means  of  it  he  is  guided  directly  at  the  instant  of 
action  to  a  sharp  and  comparing  conception  of  what 
he  is  doing.  For,  as  already  said,  the  "  aim  "  is 
not  only  the  production  or  representation  as  such, 


MAN  A  CREATIVE  BEING.  81 

but  we  aim  to  make  the  child  conscious  of  what  he 
has  done  and  how  he  has  done  it.  Thus  the  child's 
doing  becomes  a  creating,  and  his  activity  an  in- 
dividual employment.  This  is  done  when  the 
word,  which  makes  the  action  objective  and  leads 
to  the  child's  attainment  of  consciousness,  is  joined 
directly  to  the  action,  and  the  accordance  of  word 
and  deed  constantly  and  strongly  expressed  by  the 
silently  compelling  law  in  the  net,  thus  leading  to 
unity  as  well  as  insight.  While  drawing  a  line 
the  child  says  immediately,  for  example: 

"  I  draw  an  upright  {senkrecM)  line,  one  square 
long  from  up  to  down." 

"  I  draw  it  from  down  to  up,"  ^  and  so  on  up  to 
five  lengths. 

Or  the  designating  words  may  be  allowed  to 
follow  the  act,  for  example: 

"  I  drew  an  upright  line  (or  several),"  etc. 

Even  this  little  difference  in  perception  and  de- 
scription (language)  arouses  the  child's  attention.  . 

But  observant  action  leading  to  consciousness  is 
always  the  expression  of  the  child's  activity  even 
when  he  is  rebuked  as  thoughtless  because  he  has 
turned  his  attention  to  another  side  of  his  activity 
than  that  required  by  us.  And  so  we  see  here 
already  how  the  drawing  itself,  even  as  a  creative 
activity,  and  the  developing,  educational  course  of 

*  A  child  in  a  kindergarten  said  of  his  own  accord,  and 
actually  with  precise  designation,  "  raised  right  up." 


82      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

drawing  evolved  therefrom  is  necessarily  condi- 
tioned in  the  nature  and  in  the  course  of  develop- 
ment and  cultivation  of  the  human  being — child 
as  well  as  man. 

These  simple  exercises  and  representations, 
which  are  used  first  of  all,  and  which  we  have  just 
mentioned,  lead  also  to  the  perception  and  concep- 
tion, even  to  the  recognition  of  general  valid  laws 
of  formation  and  of  actual  life,  and  the  all-sided 
power  of  creation  increases  more  and  more  in  the 
child  the  more  the  insight  into  those  laws  develops. 
But  those  laws  reveal  themselves  even  at  this  first 
stage  (at  least  to  the  developing  educator),  as  it 
were,  of  their  own  accord,  with  quiet  observa- 
tion of  the  thing.  The  educator  needs  only  to 
give  the  correctly  designating  word  to  that  which 
appears  actually  before  him,  and  it  is  then  pos- 
sible for  him  to  show  (to  the  child  who  is  draw- 
ing) these  laws  in  the  child's  own  action,  and  by 
that  which  he  has  represented,  although  this  show- 
ing is  yet  more  valuable  with  the  fulfillment  of  the 
next  requirement,  viz.,  the  connecting,  comparing 
grouping  of  that  which  was  in  the  preceding  (that 
is,  the  first)  stage  represented  singly,  by  the  com- 
paring grouping  of  the  five  vertical  lines  of  from 
one  to  five  lengths  side  by  side. 

By  employing  the  simple  rule  already  many 
times  practiced  by  the  child  himself,  and  thus  ex- 
perienced by  him  in  his   own  action   (viz.,   that 


MAN  A  CEEATIVE  BEING.  83 

there  can  be  something  which  is  opposite  to,  yet 
like  each  thing),  the  fulfillment  of  the  preceding 
requirements  gives  four  forms,  all  of  which  have 
the  property  of  being  opposite  to,  yet  like  one  an- 
other individually,  and  in  the  grouping  of  the  sev- 
eral parts. 

As  now  the  laws  of  formation  and  life  here 
revealing  themselves  (for  example,  that  there  is  al- 
ways an  intermediate  between  each  two  things 
which  are  opposite,  yet  alike)  are  higher  than  those 
before  stated,  so  also  are  the  law&  of  development 
higher  (that  is,  more  general,  more  comprehen- 
sive), which  result  from  the  combining  of  the  four 
gToupings  opposite  (in  the  order),  yet  similar  (in 
the  length  of  the  lines),  by  arranging  the  groups 
by  an  opposite,  yet  similar  reference  to  a  (common) 
middle.  In  each  previous  form  the  succeeding 
one  is  suggested.  In  the  new  combination  the  four 
groupings,  which  were  before  isolated,  now  show 
themselves  as  necessarily  conditioned  members  of  a 
higher  whole. 

The  child's  desire  for  signs  awakens  and  nour- 
ishes (according  to  progressive  laws  full  of  life) 
the  capacity  to  form  a  whole,  to  recognize  the  in- 
dividual as  a  member  of  a  whole,  to  find  a  mediat- 
ing connection  between  opposites.  In  the  recog- 
nition and  acknowledgment  of  law  the  child  feels 
and  perceives  the  growth  of  his  creative  power,  and 
soon  turns  the  law  of  development  (recognized,  or 


84      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

at  least  anticipated  in  his  symmetrical  activity), 
if  not  to  the  representation  of  living  objects,  at 
least  to  the  invention  of  more  free,  independent 
forms  created  from  himself. 

These  first  results  and  expressions  of  the  child's 
power  and  gift  of  invention  (by  means  of  a  definite 
law)  are  at  the  same  time  the  first  proofs  of  the 
creative  power  dwelling  in  the  child,  and  indeed 
quite  inseparable  from  his  nature.  Therefore  it 
appears  here  as  a  requirement,  which  has  already 
been  quite  definitely  brought  forward,  how  not 
merely  laws  of  formation  and  cultivation,  but  truly 
comprehensive  laws  of  life,  develop  from  quite  sim- 
ple, little  activities  in  accordance  with  equally 
simple  laws  of  progress  which  are  as  natural  as 
they  are  necessary,  and  more  and  more  impressive 
as  well  as  comprehensive.  These  laws  of  forma- 
tion, etc.,  reveal  themselves  to  the  child  in  the  sim- 
plest, actual  perceptibility  from  his  own  action  and 
representations.  By  the  contemplation  of  objects, 
though  by  no  means  as  yet  by  word  and  insight, 
the  child  is  here  clearly  shown  that  his  spirit  is 
thoughtfully  creative,  and  creatively  thoughtful. 
At  least  he  acts  in  accordance  with  this  idea,  being 
early  impelled  to  such  action  by  his  own  nature. 

May  all  educators  carefully  consider  that  the 
observing  child  has  passed  from  the  total  contem- 
plation of  the  object  as  a  whole  to  a  perception 
of  the  individual  parts,  to  the  limiting  lines  them- 


MAN  A  CREATIVE  BEINQ.  85 

selves,  seeing  them  also  as  single  in  the  combina- 
tion. Therefore  in  drawing  and  uniting  simple 
lines  with  lines  he  first  represents  outwardly  what 
he  immediately  recognizes  as  a  definite  something. 
In  the  second  place,  the  child  shows  himself  by 
means  of  the  drawing  as  a  being  gifted  with  deter- 
mined, firm  will.  In  the  third  place,  as  he  shows 
his  will  by  definite  deed,  a  precise  something,  so 
he  also  designates  will  and  deed  by  definite  speech 
and  definite  word.  In  the  fourth  place,  he  forms 
himself  by  this  means  into  a  creative  being,  and 
by  these  means  recognizes  himself  as  such.  In  the 
fifth  place,  the  child  brings  directly  into  action 
and  thought  and  to  independent  perception  (though 
not  as  yet  to  insight)  the  simple,  limiting,  funda- 
mental laws  of  form  and  life  which  exist  within 
him. 

Thus,  in  the  sixth  place,  the  child,  as  a  recog- 
nizing being,  rises  to  self-recognition,  to  self-con- 
sciousness. And  in  the  seventh  place,  and  lastly, 
as  the  completion  of  the  circle  and,  in  a  certain 
sense,  a  return  to  the  beginning  through  recogni- 
tion, will  and  deed,  self -perception,  self-knowledge, 
and  self -creation,  the  child  forms  himself  into  an 
inwardly  united  life-whole,  into  a  part-whole  of 
the  all-life,  into  a  true  genuine  human  being. 
Hence  it  follows  that  the  child's  desire  for  showing 
and  forming,  his  power  of  creating  by  drawing, 
should  not  exactly  be  freely  used  to  produce  in- 


86      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

definite  images,  but  should  be  developed  according 
to  the  laws  of  cultivation  inherent  in  its  nature. 
It  is  already  sufiiciently  evident  what  fruits  must 
result  from  such  developing  training,  not  only  for 
the  child,  as  before  intimated,  but  yet  more  for  the 
family,  the  home,  the  school,  and  for  public  life. 

Yet  the  most  important  result,  which  although 
later  proceeds  with  certainty  from  this  developing 
means  of  educating  the  child,  is  that  he  attains  to 
the  recognition  of  the  opposite,  not  as  something 
contradictory  or  destructive,  but  as  something 
which,  conjoined  with  its  contrast,  forms  an  in- 
wardly united  whole.  It  may  therefore  be  said  that 
he  comes  to  the  knowledge  of  the  opposite  as  being 
in  certain  respects  indeed  opposite,  but  in  other  re- 
spects like,  and  therefore  actually  opposite-like. 

The  child  who,  in  the  stage  of  unconscious  im- 
pulse to  formation,  advanced  in  his  drawing  from 
the  round  to  the  straight,  now,  in  the  stage  of  con- 
sciousness, rises  from  the  straight  to  the  round,  to 
the  circle,  which  is  opposite  to,  yet  like  the  straight. 
For,  although  the  round  (the  circle)  is  the  com- 
plete opposite  of  the  straight  in  regard  to  the  law 
and  manner  of  its  direction  as  returning  to  its  start- 
ing point,  etc.,  yet  both  round  and  straight,  in  re- 
gard to  their  stability,  to  the  proportion  of  the 
directions  once  begun,  to  the  holding  fast  to  the 
law  of  origination  once  chosen,  are  like  one  an- 
other; consequently  they  are  from  this  point  of 


MAN  A   CREATIVE  BEING.  87 

view  opposite  to,  yet  like  one  another,  but  they  are 
also  alike  in  the  fact  that  they  are  both  lines  which, 
as  such,  necessarily  separate.  But  the  round  (the 
circular)  line  at  once  concludes  and  includes;  it 
has  its  end  in  itself.  The  end  is  pointed  out  by  the 
beginning,  and  thus  its  size  is  pointed  out  by  itself. 
The  straight  line,  on  the  contrary,  running  on  to 
infinity  in  the  direction  once  indicated  by  it,  con- 
sequently, only  departs  from  and  never  returns  to 
its  starting  point.  Thus  both  lines  are  here  again 
opposite  to  one  another,  and  therefore  from  this 
point  of  view  also  they  are  opposite  to,  yet  like  one 
another. 

In  the  drawing  and  by  means  of  it  the  child 
represents  in  union  forms  which  are  opposite  yet 
alike,  the  ending  and  endless,  the  visible  and  the 
invisible.  So,  through  the  drawing  qualities  which 
are  opposite  to,  yet  like  one  another,  are  harmoni- 
ously developed  in  the  child.  So,  above  all,  that 
which  is  infinite,  invisible,  united,  existing,  godlike, 
develops  from  that  which  is  finite,  visible,  individ- 
ual, apparent,  earthly,  thus  corresponding  to  that 
which  pertains  to  humanity,  and  so  to  the  worth 
of  man's  nature. 

Thus,  in  order  that  the  child's  desire  for  show- 
ing and  drawing,  consequently  his  impulse  to  for- 
mation, be  fostered  according  to  the  laws  of  Nature 
and  life,  be  developed  to  true  power  of  formation, 
and  be  raised  to  conscious  creation,  the  child,  and 


88      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

thus  the  human  being,  is  set  in  the  midst  of  the  col- 
lective life-whole  and  is  comprehended  in  that 
life-whole.  In  this  way  is  fulfilled  the  first  con- 
dition necessary  to  his  development  according  to 
earthly  possibilities  for  all  positions  in  life,  viz., 
that  he,  in  the  completeness  of  his  living  expression 
of  himself,  be  at  the  same  time  most  capable,  as  a 
whole  and  member  of  humanity,  of  perfectly  mani- 
festing the  nature  of  humanity;  for  this  mode  of 
teaching  draws  together  the  life-bond  between  crea- 
tion, created,  and  Creator. 

The  cultivation  of  the  child  for  creative  (that 
is,  independent,  inventive)  drawing,  however  small 
its  circumference  may  be  (for  it,  like  a  circle,  is 
always  a  whole  in  itself),  is  therefore  also  the  mid- 
dle point,  the  starting  point,  and  spring,  as  well 
as  (according  to  its  nature,  as  a  condition  of  all  de- 
velopment) the  point  to  which  all  true,  satisfying 
education  refers.  Hence  the  genuine  kindergar- 
ten, animated  by  this  conviction,  leads  to  this  point 
through  each  of  its  actions,  even  the  smallest. 
Just  in  this  cultivation  of  the  child  for  creative 
drawing  consists  the  nature  of  the  kindergarten. 
By  means  of  this  cultivation  its  place  of  develop- 
ment is  a  garden  of  freshly  springing  humanity, 
and  its  education  one  of  all-sided  union  of  life,  a 
training  of  the  child  to  that  which  he  is  and  which 
he  makes  known  by  his  desire  for  signs — a  creative 
being. 


in. 

EMPLOYMENT  OF  CHILDREN. GUIDE  TO  PAPER  FOLD- 
ING.  A    FRAGMENT. 

A  continuously  instructive  employment  which 
educates  by  developing,  intended  for  children  from 
five  to  seven  years  and  over,  under  the  intelligent 
co-operation  of  guiding  adults. 

Preface. 

The  means  here  presented  of  training  the  child 
which  develop  him  on  all  sides  have  also  the  al- 
ready recognized  beneficent  property  that  they,  in 
their  logical  application  (proceeding  from  the  sim- 
ple, and  constantly  progressing  toward  the  more 
complex  and  manifold),  offer  an  agreeably  refresh- 
ing and  strengthening  recreation  for  the  children, 
and  not  less  for  the  power  of  mind  and  spirit  than 
for  the  bodily  activity  of  the  child-tending  adult. 
These  plays  possess  the  property  of  satisfying  alike 
the  playing  child  and  the  loving,  guiding  adult 
(mother,  father,  older  brother  or  sister,  educator), 
and  of  leading  the  adult  himself  to  an  intelligent 
enjoyment  of  them,  and  this  is  just  what  makes 


90      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

them  so  appropriate  for  the  genuine  family  room, 
for  intimately  united  family  life,  and  for  foster- 
ing such  life.  This  is  the  property  which  causes 
these  childish  employments  to  act  so  beneficially 
on  the  uneducated  child,  as  well  as  on  the  educat- 
ing adult,  uniting  both  to  form  a  whole,  full  of 
life,  for  the  practice  and  representation  of  the  true, 
the  good,  and  the  beautiful,  as  they  develop  spirit, 
mind,  power  of  doing,  thought,  feeling,  and  action 
in  harmony  and  accord  of  life,  which  is  such  a 
great,  imperative  need  for  all  our  relations  in  life, 
and  for  the  all-sided  demands  of  life  for  intelligent, 
aesthetic,  religious,  practical  training. 

A. 

A  guiding  thread  through  the  means  of  em- 
ployment in  general  as  well  as  a  superintending 
guidance  in  particular. 

1.  As  was  demonstrated  in  the  Mother-Plays 
and  Nursery  Songs  and  elsewhere,  the  means  of  de- 
veloping the  child  are  deeply  conditioned  in  his 
nature  and  his  course  of  training,  proceed  directly 
from  the  bodily  activity  and  the  spiritual  influence 
of  man  as  a  whole,  single  in  itself,  and  exert  a  di- 
rect influence  on  man.  So  the  means  of  employ- 
ing the  child,  presented  especially  in  the  so-called 
play-gifts,  etc.,  are,  as  can  be  demonstrated,  as 
deeply  grounded  in  the  nature  of  the  child  as  in 
the  properties  of  the  things  (as  has  also  been  re- 


PAPER  FOLDING.  91 

peatedly  said  here),  and  proceed  from  a  connecting 
medium,  from  the  corporeal,  the  material,  as  such, 
from  its  simplest  representative  (the  ball)  to  the 
sphere,  the  cube,  and  the  cylinder  as  an  undivided 
whole;  since  the  children  consider  and  especially 
treat  these  objects  as  such,  according  to  their  vari- 
ous and  opposite  as  well  as  connecting  properties 
and  relations  in  rest  and  movement.  The  training 
of  the  limbs  and  senses  is  here  the  connection  be- 
tween development  and  employment,  the  single  and 
the  undivided,  the  spiritual  and  the  corporeal. 

2.  The  advance  from  the  undivided  is,  accord- 
ing to  the  ruling  law  of  opposites,  to  the  divided, 
and  in  the  divided,  first  from  the  once  divided  on 
all  sides  to  the  several  times  divided,  from  the 
cubical  to  the  brick  formation,  and  from  the 
straight  to  the  oblique  division.  These  are  the 
well-known  play-gifts  from  the  third  to  the  sixth 
inclusive. 

3.  From  the  bricks  (of  the  sixth  gift)  the 
means  of  play  goes  on  to  the  tablets,  and,  in  the 
tablets,  first  to  the  right-angled  or  four-cornered, 
and  then  to  the  oblique  or  three-cornered.  The 
comprehension  of  their  different  positions  and  re- 
lations to  one  another  conditions  the  difference  in 
kinds,  their  use,  and  their  different  eft'ect  on  the 
child. 

They  form  the  special  and  intimately  connected 
series  of  the  laying  plays  which  comprise  a  many- 


92      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

sided  cultivation,  and  hence  are  especially  adapted 
for  developing  education  as  well  as  agreeably  in- 
structive. 

4.  Through  the  brick  formation  and  that  of 
the  tablets  the  corporeal  division  goes  on  to  the 
sticks;  first  of  all,  to  the  sticks  of  the  length  of  two 
cubes,  or  one  brick.    The  use  of  these  sticks  consists: 

a.  In  different  ways  of  laying  the  forms  of 
life,  beauty,  and  knowledge  which  are  already 
abundantly  familiar.  With  the  latter  we  can 
again,  if  we  wish,  distinguish  the  figure  and  num- 
ber forms,  and  also  the  writing  and  reading  forms, 
etc. 

6.  In  the  firm  joining  of  the  sticks  by  a  con- 
necting body  (peas  or  cork)  to  form  inclosed  fig- 
ures or  surfaces. 

For  movable  connection  of  the  single  sticks 
there  appear:  5.  In  this  place,  slats  of  the  length 
of  eight  cubes  or  four  bricks,  and  of  the  width  at 
most  of  a  half  cube.  The  employment  with  these 
is  the  so-called  interlacing.  The  preceding  employ- 
ment is  called  peas  work. 

6.  The  connection  of  the  sticks  by  the  inter- 
lacing, appearing  as  an  undivided  but  movable 
whole,  leads  to  the  employment  with  the  jointed 
slat,  by  the  management  of  which  one  form  is  de- 
veloped from  another,  and  the  more  complex  is 
brought  back  to  the  simpler  form. 

7.  The  interlacing  and  the  use  of  the  jointed 


PAPER  FOLDINa.  93 

slat  lead  to  the  employment  with  undivided  strips 
of  paper  folded  together  lengthwise,  or  to  inter- 
twining. The  joining  and  twisting  of  these  pro- 
ceed from  simple  forms  and  conditions,  and  lead 
then  to  the  combination  of  single  colored  strips  of 
paper  in  a  turning  fashion  (braiding).  This  leads 
to  weaving,  which  opens  the  passage  to  the  fol- 
lowing. 

8.  Through  all  which  stands  before  us,  the  di- 
vision of  the  whole  and  its  separation  into  parts 
leads  back  again  t9  the  whole  in  perceptions  of 
solids  and  surfaces,  but  both  can  be  seen  through, 
and  thus  permit  a  view  into  the  interior.  From 
this  division  and  recombination  of  the  divided  ma- 
terial the  advance  is  to 

9.  Changing  the  material  in  different  forms, 
but  in  unaltered  quantity,  to  wholes,  which  actually 
remain  constantly  the  same  in  themselves. 

a.  If  the  whole,  when  it  is  to  be  changed  in 
this  way,  is  massive,  the  mass  must  be  soft,  ca- 
pable of  being  pressed  and  moved  out  of  place 
(thus  in  a  certain  sense  impressible),  therefore 
changeable  in  form,  but  abiding  in  respect  to  quan- 
tity. This  is  the  modeling  in  its  first  simple  forms, 
proceeding  from  the  sphere  or  from  the  cube. 

&.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  one  proceeds  from  a 
defined  surface  which  always  remains  the  same, 
the  result  is  the  folding,  which  is  to  be  especially 
treated  and  brought  forward  in  what  follows. 


94      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

c.  If  one  proceeds  from  a  thread  there  results 
a  childish  and  especially  girlish  play,  the  so-called 
thread  game.  Here  are  brought  forth  the  outlines 
of  surface  and  solid  forms  of  different  kinds  by 
the  use  of  a  thread  (the  two  ends  of  which  are 
joined,  and  the  length  of  which  remains  the  same 
through  all  changes  of  form),  with  the  help  of  the 
two  hands  of  a  coadjutor  and  the  use  of  one's  own 
hands. 

10.  In  accordance  with  the  course  of  constant 
development,  the  childish  employment  now  follow- 
ing is  of  course  the  connection  of  the  two  preced- 
ing ones.  It  is  therefore  the  union  of  the  separate 
with  the  abiding,  or,  with  the  solid  mass,  the  cut- 
ting off  or  carving;  with  surface  material  (paper), 
the  cutting  out — cutting,  so  called. 

The  cutting  is  therefore  the  connection,  the 
folding  of  an  abiding  material  with  the  parts  and 
forms,  so  that  an  abiding  material  indeed  remains, 
but  develops  and  shows  definite  forms  in  the  rela- 
tions of  its  separations;  although  also,  on  the  other 
hand,  separated  parts  again  originate  which  may 
be  again  combined  according  to  general  and  neces- 
sary laws  of  combination. 

But  from  the  management  of  this  fundamental 
activity  there  proceeds  again  a  twofold  course: 
First,  one  may  regard  the  forms  which  are  origi- 
nated by  the  cutting  in  respect  to  their  kind. 
They  may  then  be  either  merely  representations  of 


PAPER  FOLDING.  95 

the  beautiful,  of  an  idea;  or  representations  of  facts 
and  thoughts;  or  representations  of  the  forms  and 
objects  of  the  surroundings,  of  Nature  and  of  hu- 
man life — even  the  representation  of  man  himself 
— here,  for  example,  the  furniture  of  a  house,  an 
inn,  a  manufactory,  dolls,  human  forms;  there,  nat- 
ural objects,  animals,  plants,  etc. 

Or,  second,  that  which  is  cut  out,  cut  off 
and  separated,  remains  in  connection  with  the 
whole,  and  is  itself  grouped  together  to  form  a 
whole,  inclosing  space.  This  gives  the  hollow, 
and  thus  in  its  application  to  human  life  proceeded 
the  room,  the  house,  the  building;  and  thus  again 
the  introduction  and  return  to  the  purely  human, 
to  the  home  and  the  family  life,  to  the  family 
room,  from  which  indeed  the  whole  proceeds.  All 
this  is  presented  to  the  child  in  subjective  form, 
and  can  be  understood  by  the  child  from  his  own 
experience. 

Thus,  then,  a  review  of  the  whole  employment 
and  occupation  of  children  shows  that  they  are  to 
be,  for  the  child,  a  mirrored  image  of  the  whole 
life  of  l!^ature  and  of  man,  and  that  at  the  stage 
of  childhood  they  lead  to  true  estimation  and 
comprehension  of  life;  indeed,  at  every  stage  of 
the  development  and  the  progress  of  childhood 
they  lead  to  comprehension  of  its  inner  signifi- 
cance. 

From  the  sequence  of  the  employment  and  oc- 


96      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

cupation  of  children  here  intimated  we  now  bring 
into  prominence  but  one — the  paper  folding. 

It  proceeds  from  a  surface  of  a  precise  and 
given  form. 

This  simplest  form  (proceeding  from  its  inner- 
most foundations  and  law  of  development)  is  the 
square,  or  the  form  defined  by  four  equal  sides, 
four  equal  angles,  and  four  equal  corners.  Al- 
though the  triangle,  consisting  of  three  equal  sides, 
three  equal  angles,  and  three  equal  corners,  ap- 
pears, on  account  of  the  number,  to  be  the  simpler 
and  first,  yet  it  is,  on  account  of  its  nature  (as  is 
afterward  shown),  the  one  which  is  led  up  to — the 
later. 

B. 

Paper  folding  as  a  means  of  employment  pro- 
ceeding from  the  square  surface  or  square  form. 

The  square  may  be  formed  from  any  firm  paper 
surface,  whatever  the  outlines  of  the  latter  may  be. 
The  given  continuous  surface  is  creased  by  a  fold 
into  two  parts  as  nearly  alike  as  possible.  Then 
the  surface  is  again  doubled  together,  dividing  into 
two  equal  parts  the  line  caused  by  the  folding,  so 
that  a  right  angle  results,  closed  on  one  side,  open 
on  the  other.  Then  one  half  of  the  open  side  is 
bent  so  that  its  boundary  line  coincides  with  the 
boundary  line  of  the  closed  side,  this,  with  the  new 
fold,  forming  half  a  right  angle.  "We  then  make 
an  incision  at  any  point  of  the  sides  which  have 


PAPER  FOLDING.  97 

been  laid  together  and  made  even  all  the  way 
from  the  apex  of  the  half  right  angle,  therefore 
on  the  side  where  the  half  of  the  divided  side 
coincides  with  the  closed  one.  We  then  let  the 
half  fall  back  into  its  original  position  and  join 
the  two  incisions  by  a  straight  line  in  the  direction 
of  which  the  superfluous  paper  is  cut  off.  Now  if 
the  triangle  resulting  from  this  cut  be  unfolded 
the  desired  square  appears. 

The  remarkable  thing  in  this  is,  that  the  most 
symmetrical  and  simplest  form,  the  square,  results 
from  the  unshaped  surface  by  means  of  three 
creases  and  three  cuts.  This  phenomenon  demands 
the  strictest  consideration  on  several  sides. 

By  the  foregoing  work  and  its  results  should  be 
demonstrated  that  the  formed,  and,  in.  this  especial 
case,  the  square,  proceeds  from  the  unformed  by 
regular  division. 

But  it  would  be  not  only  unadvisable,  but  ridic- 
ulous, to  proceed  always  in  this  way  to  form  a 
square.  A  proper,  progressive  cultivation  always 
takes  into  account  what  already  is.  If  not  square 
forms,  we  find  enough  rectangular  forms  in  our 
surroundings.  These  are  shown  us  by  our  present 
machine-cut  papers,  and  often  with  great  exactness. 
This  is  a  beautiful  and  convenient  agreement  of 
that  which  already  is  with  that  which  we  want, 
and  we  must  thankfully  consider  it,  and  make  use 
of  it  to  promote  the  whole.     Thus  if  it  is  desired 


98      EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

to  carry  on  the  folding  with  additional  paper  it  is 
advisable  to  take  for  the  purpose  rectangular  ma- 
chine-cut paper.  Ordinarily,  for  instance,  in  the 
work  of  the  public  schools,  paper  already  used  in 
writing  or  drawing  books  can  be  taken  for  the 
folding. 

We  here  proceed  with  the  machine-cut  paper 
as  material  for  folding,  or,  in  other  words,  we  make 
use  of  such  paper.  The  use  of  already  written 
paper,  or  of  leaves  from  writing  and  drawing  books, 
proceeds  on  the  same  plan. 

We  see,  first  of  all,  how  from  one  sheet  of  ma- 
chine-cut paper  a  number  of  suitable  squares  can 
be  made,  as  preparatory  material  for  folding. 

In  order  to  understand  what  follows,  and  to  be 
actually  instructed  by  it,  it  is  necessary  to  take 
a  piece  of  machine  paper  in  hand  and  follow  out 
the  directions  step  by  step.  If  one  has  anything 
clearly  before  him,  it  is  easy  to  impart  it  to  others. 

1.  I  lay  the  whole  sheet  before  me  opened  as  a 
horizontal  rectangle,  crease  it  by  a  fold  in  the  mid- 
dle of  its  length  so  that  it  is  divided  into  two  equal 
parts  or  oblongs  (one  long  side  of  which  is  closed, 
the  other  open);  the  two  shorter  sides  are  divided. 
The  paper  thus  folded  lies  before  me  in  the  position 
of  a  horizontal  oblong,  the  closed  side  turned  toward 
me,  the  open  side  from  me. 

2.  I  take  then  the  upper  half  leaf  of  the  divided 
right-hand  side  and  bend  the  corner  so  that  the 


PAPER  FOLDING.  99 

short  side  of  the  oblong  shall  coincide  with  the 
closed  side,  and  so  that  the  right  angle  which  the 
shorter  side  forms  with  the  closed  longer  side  is 
divided  into  two  half  right  angles. 

3.  I  turn  the  whole  over,  so  that  what  was  be- 
fore "underneath  shall  be  above,  and  do  the  same 
with  the  right-hand  corner  of  the  top  leaf  now 
lying  before  me. 

4.  I  do  the  same  with  the  two  left-hand  sides. 
The  result  is  a  parallel-sided,  alike-sloped  quad- 
rangle (boat-shaped  trapezoid). 

5.  I  unfold  the  whole  in  the  crease  which 
formed  the  two  original  oblongs,  through  which  a 
hexagon  appears,  two  of  whose  sides  are  single  (in 
thickness),  the  four  others  closed  by  the  four  bent- 
in  triangles.  The  bent-in  triangles  lie  two  on  each 
side,  and  so  that  the  bent-in  points  coincide  in  a 
straight  line,  which  is  at  the  same  time  the  base 
of  the  large  triangle  formed  by  the  two  small  bent- 
in  equal  triangles. 

6.  In  the  direction  of  these  two  bases  I  now 
bend  each  of  the  two  large  triangles  back,  press 
the  two  folds  close  with  my  finger,  and  cut  off  the 
triangles  in  the  direction  of  these  folds. 

7.  Each  of  these  two  cut-off  large  triangles, 
each  of  which  again  consists  of  two  doubled  small 
triangles,  I  bend  together  in  the  already  creased 
fold,  so  that  the  two  doubled  small  triangles  lie 
one  on  the  other,  and  cut  them  apart  in  this  fold. 


100  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

So  I  obtain  four  doubled  small  triangles,  and,  when 
I  have  unfolded  each  of  them,  four  squares. 

8.  There  remains  yet  of  the  sheet  one  rectangle 
lying  in  tl^e  middle  containing  equal  quantities  of 
the  two  half  sheets  of  paper,  which  will  be  used 
at  a  later  period  (for  the  intertwining).  It  is 
essential  to  consider  the  position  of  the  knife  in 
cutting;  the  edge  of  the  knife  must  be  on  a  line 
with  the  paper,  and  the  cutting  must  be  done  very 
firmly. 

The  squares  resulting  from  the  foregoing, 
and  by  the  repetition  of  this  with  several  sheets, 
give  now  the  foundation  exercises  for  the  folding, 
and  for  the  forms  and  representations  resulting. 
These  forms  are  different  indeed,  but  develop  from 
one  another  in  simple  symmetry,  first,  however, 
making  several  additional  symmetrical  folds  and 
creases,  by  which  a  form  results  which  is  the  fun- 
damental for  all  following  forms.  It  is  well  for 
the  children  to  make  a  number  of  squares  them- 
selves before  carrying  out  the  folding,  and  to  rep- 
resent with  them  a  number  of  fundamental  forms. 
All  this  aims  at  and  unites  perfection,  by  which 
the  fresh  and  glad  continuance  of  an  employment 
is  promoted.  In  addition  be  it  said  that  it  is  better 
to  call  the  several-times-mentioned  figure  of  the 
surface  a  square,  rather  than  a  quadrate  (Geviert), 
because  four  equal  sides,  four  equal  corners,  and 
four  equal  angles  are  found  in  it. 


PAPER  FOLDING.  101 

We  later  call  another  figure  a  threefold  form 
because  it  is  formed  of  and  bounded  by  three  equal 
sides,  three  equal  angles,  and  three  equal  corners. 
We  name  each  similar  figure  in  the  same  manner, 
by  which  means  an  equally  progressive  nomen- 
clature for  all  equal-angled  and  equal-sided  figures 
is  found  and  given,  instead  of  the  designation  con- 
sisting of  many  words  hitherto  used — "  regular 
pentagon/'  etc. 

From  the  stock  of  squares  now  obtained  result 
the  fundamental  forms  in  the  following  regular 
way: 

9.  In  order  constantly  to  develop  the  artistic 
from  that  which  lies  before  you,  the  square  is 
taken  between  the  two  hands  so  that  the  forefingers 
lie  within  the  already  creased  diagonal  fold,  but 
the  thumbs  and  the  middle  fingers  of  both  hands 
must  be  outside  the  fold.  I^ow  draw  out  the  two 
forefingers  gradually  from  the  square  and  crease 
it  again  in  the  already  existing  cross  fold  into 
two  equal  parts,  saying:  "I  divide  the  square 
by  a  diagonal  line  into  two  equal  parts,  into 
two  equal  and  similar  right-angled,  isosceles  tri- 
angles.'' 

Remark. — The  fundamental  law  of  all  ad- 
vance, development,  and  cultivation  (thus,  in  gen- 
eral, of  all  education)  is  to  proceed  from  any  given 
thing  to  the  pure  opposite  within  this  given  thing. 

So  here  also. 
9 


102  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

Opposite  to  the  oblique  lies  the  right  line,  ex- 
pressed in  the  square  as  across. 

10.  I  lay  the  square  between  my  fingers,  as  be- 
fore indicated,  so  that  they  now  lie  in  the  middle 
of  the  square,  of  which  two  opposite  sides  are  laid 
together  (as  were  before  the  two  opposite  corners), 
and  say,  proceeding  in  the  same  manner  as  before, 
while  I  lay  side  closely  to  side  and  corner  to  cor- 
ner: "  I  divide  my  square  by  a  cross  line  into  two 
equal  parts  or  halves,  two  equal  long  rectangles  " 
(evident  by  superposition). 

I  now  unfold  the  whole  again,  lay  my  fore- 
fingers, as  in  the  beginning,  first  in  the  diagonal 
line  (a),  and  then  in  the  same  manner  in  the  cross 
line  (&),  saying  with  ''  a  "  ''  one  half  is,"  and  with 
u  ^  ??  a  gq^a]  ^Q  Qj^g  \idli  "  (and  going  back  to  the 
first  position,  ^^  a  "),  "  consequently  the  triangle  " 
(now  going  back  to  position  "  b  ")  "  is  equal  to  the 
rectangle." 

Remark. 

1.  By  this  word  and  speech  connected  with 
deed  by  the  adult,  the  child  will  at  first  only 
be  required  to  do  and  to  hear,  because  the  organs 
of  speech  at  this  stage  of  the  child's  development 
are  as  yet  too  untrained  for  the  repetition  of  long 
sayings,  and  the  mind  is  as  yet  too  unpracticed  for 
comparing  comprehension.  This  practice  will  be 
obtained  in  the  way  just  mentioned.  It  is  worthy 
of   consideration  that   the   child   appropriates  the 


PAPER  FOLDING.  103 

words  more  easily  by  frequent  hearing  than  by 
frequent  repetition,  for  hearing  impresses  the  mind 
more  than  repetition.  Therefore  everything  must 
be  clearly  and  precisely  expressed  by  the  adult  al- 
ways with  reference  to  the  perception. 

2.  With  these  exercises  various  perceptions  of 
the  relations  of  form  and  size  and  facts  for  the  true 
pleasure  and  elevation  of  the  life  of  the  children 
may  be  connected,  in  proportion  to  the  development 
of  the  children;  for  example: 

a.  A  square  will  be  divided  by  a  diagonal  line, 
more  exactly  indicated  as  a  corner  diagonal,  into 
two  equal  parts,  two  equal  right-angled,  isosceles 
triangles,  which  are  opposite  to,  but  like,  each 
other  (that  is,  while  their  two  times  two  equal  acute 
angles  lie  at  two  opposite  corners,  the  two  right 
angles  and  base  lie  likewise  opposite  to  and  equal  to 
one  another). 

h.  From  this  follows  the  perception  of  the  fact 
that  a  triangle  is  the  half  of  a  square  when  it  has 
an  equal  base  and  altitude.  A  further  perception 
is  this : 

c,  A  square  is  divided  by  a  cross  line  which 
goes  through  the  middle  of  the  square  parallel  to 
two  of  the  sides,  into  two  equal  parts,  two  equal 
rectangles.     Further, 

d.  This  cross  line  divides  at  the  same  time  each 
of  the  two  sides  at  its  ends  into  two  equal  parts. 
By  the  diagonal  line  the  perception  is  retained  that, 


104:  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

e.  As  the  diagonal  line  divides  the  square  into 
two  equal  parts,  it  also  divides  each  of  the  right 
angles  from  which  it  proceeds  into  two  equal  parts, 
so  that  each  of  these  is  equal  to  half  a  right  angle, 
and  both  together  again  form  a  right  angle.  From 
this  follows  further  the  perception  of  the  fact  that, 

/.  The  sum  of  the  angles  of  a  right-angled, 
isosceles  triangle  amounts  to  two  right  angles;  and 
the  angles  at  the  base  (that  is,  at  the  diagonal 
line)  are,  taken  together,  just  as  large  as  the  angle 
which  lies  opposite  to  the  diagonal. 

By  these  employments,  which  are  plays  to  the 
child,  and  which  can  be  made  very  attractive  to 
him  by  the  quick  change  of  form  and  the  quick 
indication  of  that  change  by  accompanying  words, 
the  child  also  perceives  that  the  expression  right 
angle  has  a  double  signification:  first  that  of  form, 
then  that  of  size,  in  which  lies  its  connecting — that 
is,  instructive — property  and  importance. 

From  this  follows  the  seventh  easily  demon- 
strable perception,  when  the  square  is  divided  into 
the  two  triangles, 

g.  That  in  a  right-angled,  isosceles  triangle  the 
base  is  always  larger  than  each  of  the  two  equal 
sides  or  legs  of  the  triangle. 

Eemaek. — All  these  facts,  viewed  here  singly 
and  as  separate  phenomena,  receive  their  clearer 
and  more  general  perceptions  in  the  progressive 
development  of  the  whole  from  stage  to  stage,  by 


PAPER  FOLDING.  105 

their  frequent  repetition  in  the  most  various  re- 
lations. They  impress  themselves  so  deeply  and 
easily  on  the  mind  as  perceptions  of  fact  and  real 
truths  that  by  the  retention  of  them  the  abstract 
words  do  not  burden  the  memory.  The  retention 
of  the  so-called  abstract — that  is,  purely  intellectual 
— facts  is  connected  with  the  pleasure  and  joy  of 
activity,  of  creation.  The  child  finds  them,  dur- 
ing the  pleasure  and  joy,  in  himself  and  through 
himself,  and  so  easily  receives  them  as  his  own  self- 
won  property;  for,  briefly  speaking,  they  would 
not  be  impressed  upon  him,  but  would  develop  in 
him  by  his  own  activity.  We  now  return  to  the 
perceptions  of  knowledge. 

A.  A  right-angled,  isosceles  triangle  is  equal  to 
a  rectangle  which  has  an  equal  base  and  half  the 
altitude. 

The  perception  of  this  truth  proceeds  from  the 
two  kinds  of  division  of  the  square  by  a  diagonal 
line  and  a  cross  line,  and  by  folding  the  paper  to- 
gether in  both  ways  for  the  purpose  of  comparison. 
(See  above,  No.  10.)  "  One  half  is  equal  to  one 
half.'' 

But  this  fact  can  also  be  expressed  as  a  new 
one  in  the  opposite  way — that  is,  by  proceeding 
from  the  observation  of  the  rectangle,  as  before 
from  that  of  the  triangle. 

i.  A  rectangle  is  as  large  as  a  right-angled, 
isosceles  triangle  which  has  an  equal  base  and  twice 


106  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  altitude.  This  can  be  made  perceptible  by  ap- 
plying tbe  diagonal  line  of  the  triangle,  cut  off  from 
the  rectangle,  to  the  second  half  of  the  divided 
side  line,  and  thus  in  twofold,  similar  directions 
joining  a  right  and  an  oblique  line.  Further  per- 
ceptions are  received  when  I  spread  out  the  square 
before  me  and  consider  the  relations  of  the  two 
creases  inside  the  square. 

h.  The  diagonal  line  and  the  cross  line  form,  at 
the  point  where  they  intersect,  two  times  two 
equal  angles,  which,  at  the  point  of  intersection, 
are  opposite  to  and  equal  to  each  other,  and  which 
are  called  vertical  angles,  from  which  is  received 
the  perception  of  the  fact  that  vertical  angles  are 
equal. 

If  now  we  take  into  consideration  the  two  sides 
of  the  square,  which  are  parallel  with  the  cross  line, 
in  connection  with  the  diagonal,  we  obtain  the  fol- 
lowing new  perceptions: 

1.  The  perception  of  inner  opposite  angles,  here 
twice  formed  from  one  of  the  obtuse  vertical  angles 
and  the  acute  angle  lying  opposite  to  it  which  is 
on  the  same  half  diagonal,  and  is  formed  from  this 
and  the  side  of  the  square  which  is  parallel  to  the 
cross  line. 

2.  The  perception  of  inner,  alternate  angles 
twice  two  times  formed:  once  from  the  diagonal 
line  and  the  two  horizontal  side  lines  of  the  square, 
and  lying  on  the  alternate  sides  of  the  diagonal; 


PAPER  FOLDING.  107 

then  formed  from  the  two  perpendicular  sides  of 
the  square  and  the  diagonal  and  lying  on  the  al- 
ternate sides  of  the  latter.  Then  again  two  times 
two,  formed  each  of  a  half  diagonal  with  each  of 
the  two  half  cross  lines,  and  with  the  two  sides 
parallel  to  the  cross  line,  and  lying  on  alternate 
sides  of  each  of  the  half  diagonals.  The  inner 
alternate  angles  here  indicated  are  all  sharp,  but 
the  right  angles  can  also  be  perceived.  But  this 
intimation  must  suffice.  Since  now  each  pair  of 
such  inner  alternate  angles  are  always  equal  to 
one  another,  we  obtain  the  perception  of  the  fact 
that — 

I.  Inner  alternate  angles  of  parallel  lines  are 
always  equal  to  one  another. 

Other  positions  of  the  angles  can  be  perceived; 
indeed  the  children  seek  them  for  their  own  pleas- 
ure after  their  eye  and  sense  of  form  are  developed. 

We  will  now  go  on  with  the  exposition.  We 
last  obtained  a  rectangle,  one  long  side  of  which  was 
closed  and  the  three  other  sides  were  open.  We 
now  bend  this  together  so  that  one  half  of  the 
closed  side  lies  on  the  other,  and  the  two  short 
sides  of  the  rectangle  come  together.  This  gives 
a  square  with  one  wholly  closed  side,  and  one  half 
closed;  the  two  other  sides  are  open,  and  in  four 
parts.  I  open  the  square  again  to  a  rectangle,  and 
obtain  the  following  perceptions: 

m.  A  short  cross  line,  which  goes  through  the 


108  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

middle  of  the  rectangle,  divides  it  into  two  equal 
parts;  each  of  these  two  parts  is  a  square. 

n.  Inner  opposite  angles  of  parallel  lines  can 
both  be  in  respect  to  form  two  right  angles  (per- 
ception of  fact),  and  are  together  two  right  angles 
in  respect  to  size  (statement  of  fact  reached  by  de- 
duction). 

The  two  long  sides  of  the  rectangle  form,  with 
the  separating  cross  line,  two  times  two  right  an- 
gles; or  conversely,  the  separating  cross  line  forms, 
with  the  two  long  sides  of  the  rectangle,  two  times 
two  right  angles.  These  angles  lead  to  the  name 
— adjacent  angles  of  a  line — and  this  leads  to  the 
perception  that  in  the  case  in  question  two  adjacent 
angles  of  a  line  have  the  form,  as  well  as  the  size, 
of  a  right  angle. 

We  now  open  the  rectangle  again  to  a  square 
and  thus  come  to  the  perception  that — 

0.  Tw^o  lines  w^hich  cross  a  square  and  intersect 
in  the  middle,  and  each  one  of  which  is  parallel  to 
two  sides  of  the  square,  divide  the  square  into  four 
equal  squares. 

This  perception  comprises  the  fact  that — 

p.  Each  component  square  is  one  fourth  of  the 
principal  square,  and  so  each  small  square  is  like 
the  others  in  form,  as  well  as  in  extent.  The  oppo- 
site statement,  that  each  of  the  small  squares  is  like 
the  principal  square  in  form,  but  different  in  ex- 
tent, gives  rise  to  the  following: 


PAPER  FOLDING.  109 

q.  Like  form  does  not  condition  like  size,  or  the 
size  can  be  different  with  the  same  form.  This 
fact  can  be  again  brought  out  by  the  comparison 
of  the  four  small  triangles  with  two  large  ones. 

This  perception  of  the  two  cross  lines  connected 
with  that  of  the  diagonal  line  passing  through 
their  point  of  intersection — by  which,  according  to 
form,  there  originate  two  right  and  four  acute 
angles,  or  if  we  bring  only  one  cross  line  into  com- 
bination with  the  diagonal,  two  obtuse  and  two 
acute  angles — leads  to  the  perception  that — 

r.  All  the  angles  round  a  point  taken  together 
equal  four  right  angles. 

s.  Adjacent  angles — that  is,  such  as  come  to- 
gether on  one  side — are,  according  to  size,  always 
equal  to  two  right  angles,  for  they  take  up  only 
half  the  angular  space  around  a  point. 

t.  If  the  adjacent  angles  are  oblique,  the  ob- 
tuse angle  is  as  much  larger  than  a  right  angle  as 
the  acute  angle  is  smaller. 

Kemark. — The  child  must  be  repeatedly  made 
to  observe  that  a  right  angle  is  spoken  of  in  two 
different  ways.  When,  for  instance,  I  say,  "  the 
angles  may  be  of  two  kinds,  right  or  oblique,''  I 
speak  of  the  right  angle  according  to  form.  But 
when  I  say,  "  a  right  angle  takes  up  a  different 
space  from  the  oblique,"  I  refer  to  the  size  of  the 
angle.  The  name,  right  angle,  thus  refers  (1)  to 
the  form,  and  at  the  same  time  (2)  to  the  size  of 


110  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  angle.  In  this  double  nature  and  significance 
of  the  word  right  is  founded  the  fact  that  the 
right  angle  is  in  itself  the  measure  of  the  angles, 
for  the  right  angle,  on  account  of  its  double  nature, 
forms  the  connection  between  the  obtuse  and  the 
acute  angles. 

u.  As  was  formerly  said  with  respect  to  the 
adjacent  angles  perceived  in  the  folding  leaf,  the 
obtuse  angle  is  as  much  larger  than  the  right  angle 
as  the  acute  angle  is  smaller,  so  we  here  perceive 
that  the  two  obtuse  angles  are  as  much  larger  as 
the  two  acute  angles  are  smaller  than  two  right 
angles. 

In  this  way  the  eye  of  the  child  is  developed 
to  the  perception  and  conception  of  a  number  of 
relations  and  facts  in  proportion  to  the  child's  skill 
and  capacity  for  inward  and  outward  perception. 
The  eye  is  spontaneously  and  the  mind  voluntar- 
ily developed  for  such  relations  and  facts  by  the 
frequently  repeated  representation  of  the  thing, 
since  word  and  deed,  perception  and  designation, 
and  thus  thinking,  doing,  and  noticing,  are  always 
intimately  united. 

We  now  go  back  again  to  the  occupation  of 
folding.  The  last  fold  was  that  by  which  we  ob- 
tained seemingly  one  square,  but  actually,  after  un- 
folding, four  squares  by  the  division  of  the  long 
rectangle.  We  now  again  connect  with  the  first 
experiment  where  a  square  was  made  from  the 


PAPER  FOLDING.  HI 

rectangle  by  folding  the  latter  together  in  the 
shorter  cross  line.  Now  I  fold  the  lower  closed 
side  to  the  left  side,  and  say,  "  I  divide  the  square 
by  a  diagonal  line  into  two  right-angled,  isosceles 
triangles.'' 

Now,  turning  the  square  thus  divided  down- 
ward, and  the  opposite  one  upward,  I  do  again  as 
before  and  say:  "  I  divide  the  square  into  two  equal 
parts,  and,  indeed,  into  two  right-angled,  isosceles 
triangles." 

I  now  open  the  rectangle,  by  which  means  a 
larger  right-angled,  isosceles  triangle  lies  before 
me,  as  well  as  the  rectangle.  From  the  simple 
perception  of  facts  proceeds  the  double  truth  that 
the  triangle  is  the  half  of  the  rectangle;  and, 
looking  at  the  two  in  the  opposite  order,  that  the 
rectangle  is  twice  the  size  of  the  triangle,  which 
perception  leads,  at  this  stage,  to  the  general  saying 
that — 

V.  A  right-angled  triangle  is  half  of  a  rectangle 
which  has  an  equal  base  and  altitude;  or,  reversing 
the  statement — 

w.  A  rectangle  is  twice  the  size  of  a  right- 
angled  triangle  which  has  an  equal  base  and  alti- 
tude. The  fact,  as  it  lies  before  the  child,  expresses 
this  truth  so  clearly  that  the  word  only  makes  an 
audible  truth  of  a  visible  one,  or  an  advance  from 
the  outward  perception  to  the  inward  recognition 
and  comprehension  of  the  truth. 


112  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  performance  of  the  thing  proves  the  truth 
and  importance  of  what  has  just  been  said  for  the 
fostering  of  childhood  by  developing  and  educating. 
A  further  perception  (twice  shown,  first  in  the 
separation,  and  the  second  time  by  the  crease  or 
fold,  serving,  as  it  were,  to  confirm  one  another) 
is  that — 

X.  A  perpendicular  from  the  right  angle  of  a 
right-angled,  isosceles  triangle  to  the  opposite  base, 
divides  the  angle,  the  base,  and  the  whole  triangle 
into  two  equal  parts,  the  two  halves  of  the  triangle 
being  right-angled,  isosceles  triangles. 

From  this  saying  there  can  be  again  derived  a 
large  number  of  sayings  which  are  the  result  of 
perceptions,  although  they  are  derived  from  or  con- 
nected with  the  preceding  ones. 

When  the  surfaces  of  the  divided  squares  lie 
side  by  side,  the  rectangle  thus  formed  is  again 
divided  into  two  squares  for  the  children,  with 
the  familiar  words,  ^'  I  divide,"  etc.  Each  of 
the  two  squares  is  likewise  divided  by  a  diagonal 
line,  using  the  same  words  as  before.  By  this 
division  is  obtained,  apparently,  a  single  right- 
angled,  isosceles  triangle  which  really  consists  of 
several  such  triangles.  By  unfolding  these  trian- 
gles we  have  before  our  eyes,  apparently,  a  square, 
but  consisting  of  two  squares  lying  one  upon  or 
one  behind  the  other,  one  of  which  is  divided  by 
two  actually  separating  cross  lines  into  four  equal 


PAPER   FOLDING.  113 

parts  (four  right-angled,  isosceles  triangles),  and  the 
other  square,  now  brought  forward  from  behind,  is 
likewise  divided  into  four  equal  parts,  but,  by  two 
cross  folds,  into  four  equal  squares.  This  experi- 
ence now  gives  the  proposition — 

y.  That  two  diagonal  lines  divide  each  square 
into  four  equal  parts,  four  right-angled  triangles, 
and 

z.  That  two  cross  lines   [through  the  centre] 
parallel  with  the  edges  likewise  divide  each  squara^^^gfTiBF 
into  four  equal  parts,  or  into  four  squares.  /^    tVBB.' 

This  leads  to  the  concluding  statement:       i 

aa,  A  fourth  is  equal  to  a  fourth;  consequei^''^  cal\^ 
ly  each  of  the  squares  is  equal  to  one  of  the  tri- 
angles, and  each  of  the  triangles  is  equal  to  one  of 
the  squares. 

If  now  the  paper  be  opened,  we  have  again  the 
first  principal  square.  Inside  of  it  is  another 
square,  in  an  opposite  position  to  the  principal  one, 
and  therefore  called  the  opposite  square.  Its  cor- 
ners or  angles  lie  in  the  same  direction  as  the  edges 
or  lines,  and  its  sides  in  the  same  direction  as  the 
corners  and  angles,  of  the  principal  square.  So  it 
seems  to  us  the  name  of  the  opposite  square  is  fully 
justified.  The  comparison  of  this  with  the  prin- 
cipal square  gives  rise  to  the  following  truth  of  per- 
ception : 

1.  The  opposite  square  is  half  of  the  principal 
one,   and,   reversing   the   statement,   the   principal 


114  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

square  is  twice  the  size  of  the  opposite  one.  From 
this  we  derive  the  statement  that  surfaces  of  like 
form  can  have  quite  different  extent,  and,  con- 
versely, surfaces  of  different  size  can  have  like  form. 
A  further  statement  is  that — 

The  four  triangles  outside  of  the  opposite  square 
are,  taken  together,  just  as  large  as  it  is,  and  each 
of  the  triangles  is  a  quarter  of  the  opposite  square. 
The  opposite  square  is  four  times  the  size  of  each 
triangle  which  touches  one  of  its  sides.  Now 
comes  the  new  perception  that — 

2.  Two  cross  lines,  each  of  which  is  parallel  to 
two  sides  of  the  principal  square,  and  which  go 
through  the  middle  of  it,  divide  it  into  four  equal 
parts — four  equal  squares.  Each  of  the  triangles 
outside  the  opposite  square  is  half  of  such  a  square; 
thus  half  of  the  quarter  of  a  whole.  The  half 
of  a  quarter  of  a  whole  is  an  eighth,"^  consequently 
each  of  the  triangles  outside  the  opposite  square 
is  an  eighth  of  the  principal  one,  and  so  a  fourth  of 
one  of  the  triangles  we  first  obtained  by  diagonally 
halving  the  square. 

All  these  facts  lie  directly  before  the  child  in 
his  play-employments,  and  it  is  merely  necessary 
to  give  the  word  for  the  perception;  not  that 
the  child  may  retain  the  word,  but  that  through 

*  The  perception  of  this  fact  has  been  prepared  for  by  the 
earlier  play  employments,  especially  with  the  third  and  fourth 
play-gifts. 


PAPER  FOLDING.  115 

the  word  the  perception  may  become  an  abiding 
one. 

In  like  manner,  several  more  propositions,  which 
are  the  result  of  perception,  are  derived  from  all 
the  preceding  statements,  but  are  left  for  individ- 
ual discovery. 

We  now  go  back  to  the  double  square  (that  is, 
the  one  in  which  the  four  outside  triangles  are  bent 
back  upon  the  opposite  square,  with  their  right 
angles  touching  one  another  in  the  middle  of  the 
square).  I  take  it  in  my  hand  so  that  the  divided 
surface  lies  uppermost,  and  the  two  forefingers  rest 
in  the  cross  line ;  following  this  line,  I  begin,  as  be- 
fore, the  division  of  the  square  into  two  equal  ob- 
longs by  a  cross  line,  repeating,  as  usual  (in  order 
to  bring  the  repeated  phenomena  to  the  child's 
perception,  and  to  put  them  into  words),  "  I 
divide  the  square  by  a  cross  line  into  two  equal 
oblongs.'' 

The  so-formed  oblong,  placed  in  a  vertical  po- 
sition, is  now  divided  as  before  by  a  cross  line  into 
two  equal  squares,  so  that  four  doubled  squares  lie 
one  on  another,  and  so  that  in  one  corner  all  four 
are  separate,  and  in  the  diagonally  opposite  corner 
all  four  united.  I  now  bend  the  wholly  sepa- 
rated right  corner  back  to  the  closed  corner,  thus 
dividing  the  square  as  before  by  a  diagonal  line 
into  two  right-angled,  isosceles  triangles.  In  the 
same  way  I  treat  the  opposite   square.      ISTow  I 


116     EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

bend  the  two  triangles  thus  obtained  so  that  they 
cover  one  another,  and  the  two  remaining  squares 
are  outside.  Now  I  divide  these  in  the  same  way, 
and  open  the  whole,  and  there  appears  a  three- 
fold square  which  on  the  side  of  the  diagonal  line 
is  divided  into  equal  right-angled,  isosceles  tri- 
angles, and  on  the  opposite  side  by  two  cross  lines' 
into  four  equal  squares.  This  repeats  the  earlier 
recognized  perception,  but  with  much  greater 
clearness. 

3.  When  a  square  is  divided  by  two  diagonal 
lines  into  four  equal  triangles,  and  by  two  cross 
lines  into  four  equal  squares,  each  of  these  squares 
is  equal  to  one  of  the  triangles;  and,  reversing  the 
statement,  each  of  the  triangles  is  equal  to  one  of 
the  squares,  so  that  each  of  the  triangles,  and  each 
of  the  squares,  is  equal  to  one  quarter  of  the  whole 
square.  This  is  one  of  the  finest,  clearest,  and 
most  cultivating  perceptions  for  the  child.  This 
gives  further  the  correct  perception — 

4.  That  the  two  cross  lines  and  the  two  diag- 
onal lines  intersect  each  other  in  the  middle  of 
each,  and  so  bring  the  middle  of  each  and  the  mid- 
dle of  the  square  manifoldly  to  the  child's  percep- 
tion and  knowledge,  and,  as  it  were,  reveal  it. 
For,  from  this  point  on,  the  middle  now  appears 
manifoldly  important  in  reference  to  the  outside; 
and  in  the  reference  of  the  outside  (the  single)  to 
it,  the  unity. 


PAPER  FOLDING.  117 

"With  these  four  squares  so  obtained  (by  the 
comparison  of  which  with  the  triangles,  all  the 
earlier  perceptions  are  repeated  with  increasing 
clearness),  the  first  fundamental  form  is  given  from 
which  the  first  principal  forms  necessarily  develop. 


10 


IV. 

STICK-LAYING. A    FRAGMENT. 

As  has  been  already  many  times  intimated  and 
presented,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  this  whole  of 
plays  and  occupations  has  by  no  means  originated 
with  me  arbitrarily  and  as  an  artificial  mechanism 
outwardly  thrown  together;  but  it  is  actually,  in 
all  logical  consequence,  called  forth,  and,  as  it 
were,  given  by  the  stage  of  cultivation  of  life  now 
begun,  and  universally  verifying  itself  and  aspir- 
ing to  become  common  property.  This  whole  is 
also  called  forth  by  the  idea  of  education  and  train- 
ing of  the  human  being  which  is  developing  itself 
to  greater  and  greater  completeness  and  applicabil- 
ity. One  may  say,  indeed,  that  this  whole  has 
grown  forth  with  such  necessity  as,  in  the  spring, 
the  seed  germinates,  the  bud  swells,  and  finally  the 
tree  blossoms  and  bears  fruit.  Even  the  personality, 
through  and  by  which  this  whole  appears,  has  not 
been  able  to  interfere  with  its  pure,  logical  conse- 
quence, or  with  the  fundamental  conditions  of  its 
perfection.  Thus  the  whole  is  an  equally  neces- 
sary, fresh,  and  healthy  growth  of  human  develop- 
118 


STICK-LAYING.  119 

ment.  Although  the  statement  is  now  revealed  in 
many  ways  and  confirmed  by  experience  without 
the  possibility  of  doubt,  it  may  be  somewhat  an- 
ticipatory to  say  that  the  wonderful  efiiciency  of 
the  whole  of  the  school  stage,  as  well  as  that  of 
childhood,  proceeds  from  its  harmonious  growth. 

Consequently  we  enter  into  the  subject  so  as 
to  let  it  unfold  itself  according  to  its  own  inner 
law  before  our  eyes.  According  to  the  measure 
of  the  facts  so  resulting,  we  can  then  demonstrate 
the  more  extended  results  of  and  demands  for  the 
developing  educational  training  as  the  fruit  of  the 
whole  in  the  proper  place  for  further  consideration. 
In  so  doing  we  view  such  training  as  the  funda- 
mental effort  of  the  present  day  and  the  character- 
istic of  the  present  state  of  cultivation  of  humanity. 

As  is  the  case  with  each  of  the  means  of  play, 
or  each  plaything  which  makes  its  appearance  in 
the  whole  of  plays  and  employments,  the  sticks 
also,  the  stick  play,  and  thus  the  actual  stick-laying, 
are  by  no  means  arbitrarily  or  accidentally  intro- 
duced into  this  whole;  but  the  stick-laying  steps 
forth  in  the  whole  of  plays  and  employments,  like 
each  of  the  other  plays,  with  inner  necessity,  at  its 
precise  place,  in  its  peculiar  way,  and  (remarkable !) 
at  once  in  an  age  and  at  a  time  in  the  life  of  the 
child  when  he  has  attained  on  every  side  to  the 
power  and  capacity,  not  only  to  play  with  it  in  the 
usual  sense  of  the  phrase,  but  actually  to  employ 


120  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

himself  with  it  thoughtfully,  and  therefore  f orma- 
tivelj.  And  thus,  after  the  beginning  of  the  fifth 
j  and  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  child's  life,  the  stick- 
play  grows  up  in  increasing  completeness,  even  as 
the  child  himself  grows  older. 

From  this  fact  can  be  clearly  deduced  the  state- 
ment that  if  it  be  desired  that  the  stick-laying 
have  a  healthy,  invigorating  effect  on  the  life  of 
the  child,  it  should  not  begin  before  the  child  has 
obtained  the  requisite  preparation  for  it  by  means 
of  employing  himself  with  the  plays  which  precede 
it.  The  capacity  for  conception,  remembrance, 
abstraction,  and  creative  representation  must  have 
already  attained  a  certain  power  and  cultivation  in 
the  mind  of  the  child,  or  else  there  will  come  forth 
merely  insignificant  and  immature  results  for  this 
stage  of  the  child's  life,  and  his  employment  with 
this  play  at  this  premature  stage  will  bring  him 
more  injury  than  gain.  The  child  soon  forms  the 
opinion  that  because  he,  with  his  as  yet  too  unde- 
veloped weak  power,  can  accomplish  nothing  with 
this  means  of  play,  nothing  can  be  represented  by 
it,  and  he  therefore  treats  it  with  too  much  indiffer- 
ence. But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  should  be  re- 
marked that  the  sticks  are  a  means  of  play,  and  a 
material  which  can  be  easily  managed  by  a  relative- 
ly weak  power. 

In  the  series  of  the  whole  of  divided  plays  and 
employments,  the  sticks  proceed  from  the  tablets, 
\ 


STICK-LAYING.  121 

which,  being  split  in  the  direction  of  their  length, 
can  be  divided  into  sticks,  and,  as  it  were,  fall  apart 
into  such  sticks.  For  this  purpose  it  is  best  to 
take  tablets  made  of  pine  or  fir  wood. 

Peculiarly  developed,  vigorous,  adroit,  and 
careful  children  of  this  age  may  be  allowed  to  split 
the  tablets  themselves,  and  they  like  to  do  it  if 
given  corresponding  tablets  for  purposes  of  com- 
parison. The  effect  is,  first,  the  children  in  a 
certain  sense  create  their  own  means  of  play  and 
employment,  and,  second,  from  their  own  action 
discover  how  one  means  of  play  develops  from  an- 
other. Thus  the  connection  of  things  is  made 
plain  to  the  children  by  and  in  the  continued  de- 
velopment, and,  essentially,  by  means  of  their  own 
activity.  These  are  the  most  important  and  forma- 
tive properties  of  this  means  of  play,  and  will  later 
manifest  themselves  more  definitely  with  other  em- 
ployments of  children. 

On  account  of  its  importance  let  us  now  bring 
ourselves  to  a  clear  perception  of  such  a  develop- 
ment of  the  later  from  the  earlier,  of  the  newer 
from  the  older,  of  the  last  from  that  which  imme- 
diately precedes  it,  in  the  manifest  development 
of  the  sticks  in  our  play-whole,  so  that  we  may 
be  in  a  position  to  bring  to  comprehension  and 
insight  such  observation  of  the  development  of  our 
playing  child  by  this  means  of  play  and  employ- 
ment. 


122  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  sticks,  as  we  have  just  said,  result  from  the 
tablets. 

But  the  tablets  are,  in  like  manner,  a  progress- 
ive development  of  the  oblong  prisms  of  the  fourth 
play-gift  with  the  three  different  relations  of  size, 
according  to  length,  breadth,  and  thickness;  the 
length  being  two  cubes,  the  breadth  one  cube,  and 
the  thickness  one  half  cube. 

The  oblong  prisms  in  the  just-mentioned  rela- 
tions of  size  are,  however,  again  developed,  accord- 
ing to  the  same  law,  from  the  four  rectangular, 
four-sided,  and  equal-sided  columns  into  which,  in 
the  course  of  expounding  the  third  play-gift,  the 
cube  separates,  so  that  thus  the  oblong  prisms  pro- 
ceed from  the  cube  through  the  equal-sided,  four- 
sided  columns. 

But  the  cube  is  a  quite  necessary  development 
from  the  sphere,  as  the  sphere  is,  for  the  more  devel- 
oped child,  the  firmer,  and,  for  that  reason,  the 
more  movable,  and  thus,  as  it  were,  the  more  per- 
fect ball,  which  fact  has  been  already  brought  out 
by  the  development  of  the  second  play-gift. 

But  in  the  ball,  and  yet  more  definitely  in  the 
more  rigid  sphere,  can  be  perceived  (as  opposite 
to  the  external  round  surface)  the  straight  lines, 
first  of  all  in  the  three  principal  directions  which 
intersect  each  other  at  right  angles. 

These  three  invisible  but  yet  definitely  percep- 
tible directions  in  the  ball — which  is,  as  it  were,  the 


STICK-LAYING.  123 

germ  of  all,  the  developing  means  of  play  and  em- 
ployment— and  yet  more  in  the  sphere,  appear  in 
the  cube  as  three  times  four  straight  edges;  in  the 
rectangular,  equal-sided,  four-sided  columns  as  four 
times  four;  and  in  the  eight  oblong  prisms  as  eight 
times  four  straight  edges ;  and  finally  these  become, 
by  splitting  the  tablets  into  sticks,  a  multitude  of 
sticks. 

And  thus  we  have  developed  the  stick  back- 
ward from  the  sticks  to  the  sphere  and  ball,  and 
from  them  forward  to  the  sticks.  We  have  thus 
treated  the  sticks  as  a  means  of  cultivation  in  that 
kind  of  developing  education  which  requires 
thoughtful  observation  and  judicious  accomplish- 
ment. This  is  important  in  order  to  show  how  the 
sticks  in  their  first  appearance  and  actuality,  as 
straight  directions  and  lines,  are  already  given 
(drawn  into  a  smaller  compass)  in  the  sphere  and 
ball,  and  have  in  them,  as  it  were,  their  germinat- 
ing point  and  roo1>,  their  first  origin. 

As  then  this  whole  of  plays  and  employments, 
being  founded  on  fact,  actually  develops  in  the 
purest  logical  sequence,  and  necessarily  from  the 
sphere  and  ball,  the  latter  may  be  considered  as 
the  germ  of  a  tree,  and  all  the  means  of  play  and 
employment  may  be  symbolically  regarded  as  part 
of  the  tree  developed  to  blossoms  and  again  ripened 
to  fruit  and  seed,  a  figure  of  speech  already  used  in 
other  articles  on  this  subject. 


124:  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

Or  the  ball  or  sphere  may  be  considered  as  a 
flower  bud  which  develops  from  itself  in  the  blos- 
som a  great  number  of  stamens  and  pistils. 

This  symbolic  representation  of  the  unfolding  of 
the  whole  in  the  figure  of  a  tree  unfolding  itself  in 
like  manner,  and  in  the  blossoming  and  blossomed 
flower  buds  of  such  a  tree,  is  indeed  to  show  and 
demonstrate  for  the  child  the  constant  (consequent- 
ly full  of  life)  development  of  each  individual  part 
of  this  play-whole  (and,  above  all,  here  of  the 
sticks),  as  well  as  the  nature  of  the  employment 
which  enters  the  whole  at  the  right  place.  This  de- 
velopment of  each  individual  part  of  this  play- 
whole  lies  in  the  nature  of  the  thing;  for  it  is  im- 
portant even  for  the  child,  but  yet  more  for  the 
total  development  of  the  life  of  the  complete  hu- 
man being,  that  the  child  should  be  early  led,  even 
through  his  yet  sportive  life,  into  these  inner  link- 
ings  of  life  in  a  chain  of  which  he  is  himself  a  link, 
in  a  manner  corresponding  to  his  intellectual  power 
and  proportioned  to  his  bodily  strength.  Such 
guidance  is  the  chief  object  of  the  training  which 
educates  by  developing,  and  of  this  whole  of  plays 
and  employments  which  is,  as  it  were,  composed  of 
organic  parts. 

What  is  now  the  stage  of  cultivation  in  the 
child  which  the  use  of  the  sticks  presupposes? 

It  is  already  a  considerably  developed  one. 

First,  perfect  use  of  the  limbs  and  senses,  es- 


STICK-LAYING.  125 

pecially  cultivation  of  the  sense  of  sight  and  the 
use  of  the  hands  and  fingers,  for  which  the  Mother- 
Play  and  N^ursery  Songs,  as  a  family  book,  gives 
the  most  appropriate  guidance  to  the  most  versatile 
and  earliest  stage  of  the  child's  development. 

Second,  a  clear  perception  of  the  round  and 
straight;  with  the  straight,  a  clear  perception  of 
the  right  and  oblique;  and  with  the  right  again,  of 
the  vertical  and  horizontal;  with  the  oblique,  of 
the  right  and  left  diagonal.  The  plays  with  the 
ball  and  sphere  already  give  these  perceptions  (and 
have  manifoldly  given  them  to  the  child),  which 
become  more  and  more  cleared  and  confirmed  by 
the  subsequent  means  of  play."^ 

But  the  child  has  also  gained  the  perception  of 
other  positions  and  directions  with  respect  to  one 
another,  such  as  are  parallel  and  such  as  are  not 
parallel  lines,  similar  slope  and  similar  direction  of 
lines,  just  as  a  pure  perception,  indicated  by  simple 
words  without  explanation.  The  ball  and  sphere 
plays,  with  the  body  and  movement  plays  result- 

*  With  all  that  is  expressed  in  what  next  follows  one 
should,  in  order  to  attain  to  a  clear  and  correct  understanding 
of  it,  have  the  object  in  question  (the  play-gift)  actually  before 
him  when  possible ;  or  should  at  least  try  to  recall  it  as  clearly 
as  possible  to  his  remembrance  in  order  to  rise  from  the  out- 
ward perception  to  the  inner,  and  from  the  outward  grouping 
to  the  comprehension  of  the  inner  intellectual  coherence.  Such 
is  also  the  case  with  what  precedes,  beginning  at  the  first  page 
of  the  stick-laying. 


126  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ing  from  them,  manifoldly  develop  these  percep- 
tions; but  yet  more  the  play  with  the  cube  of  the 
second  play-gift,  through  which  came  to  the  child 
the  clear  perception  and  conception  of  angles  and 
corners,  edges  and  surfaces,  sides  or  planes,  as  con- 
nected and  unconnected  lines. 

But  these  perceptions  and  conceptions  were  also 
shown  with  peculiar  clearness  and  on  all  sides  in 
beautiful  arrangement  and  grouping  by  the  third 
play-gift  (the  cube,  once  divided  on  all  sides), 
which  is  therefore  called  the  delight  of  children. 

It  is  especially  the  right,  clear  conception,  the 
adroit  and  thoughtful  management  of  this  third 
gift,  which  is  presupposed  by  the  play  with  the 
sticks,  and  especially  by  the  stick-laying,  a  play 
rich  in  results  and  therefore  educative  in  many 
ways;  for  by  these  perceptions  of  the  mass  tlie 
child  trains  itself  by  degrees  to  the  perception  of  the 
outlines  which  are,  as  it  were,  drawn  out  from  the 
mass. 

There  is  but  one  perception  now  lacking  to  the 
child's  complete  and  all-sided  developing  and  rep- 
resenting use  of  the  sticks.  This  is  the  perception 
not  only  of  different  lengths,  but  of  proportionately 
different  lengths.  This  perception  has  already 
been  brought  before  the  child  many  times  by  the 
third  play-gift,  but  changeably,  not  abidingly,  and, 
as  it  were,  fixedly.  But  this  is  supplied  by  the 
fourth  play-gift,  the  eight  oblong  prisms. 


STICK-LAYING.  127 

If  we  add  to  this  the  laying  with  the  tablets, 
and  let  these,  as  above  mentioned,  unfold  or  fall 
apart  into  sticks,  we  have  come  with  our  child  to 
the  stage  of  development  of  his  activity  and  attrac- 
tion to  employment  when  he  can  practice  stick- 
laying  with  developing  results,  and  can,  in  and  by 
means  of  it,  reveal  himself  in  yet  greater  compass 
than  heretofore  as  a  creating  being,  developing 
and  forming  from  himself. 

And  now  what  have  we  gained  by  this  presen- 
tation of  the  stick-play,  and  especially  of  the  stick- 
laying,  in  reference  to  the  whole  of  the  means  of 
play  and  employment,  as  well  as  in  reference  to 
each  single  play-gift  in  respect  to  its  use  as  well  as 
its  spirit  ? 

First,  we  have  recognized  that  this  whole  of 
play  and  employment  is  not  merely  outwardly 
drawn  together  in  respect  to  its  single  plays,  but 
is  developed  in  all  its  parts  according  to  inner  and 
necessary  laws,  and  is  consequently  an  organic 
whole,  full  of  life. 

Second,  that  the  profitable  use  of  each  follow- 
ing play-gift  in  a  certain  compass  presupposes  the 
knowledge  and  use  of  the  preceding  ones,  but  that 
after  and  with  each  of  the  following  play-gifts  the 
preceding  ones  can  be  used  with  yet  richer  re- 
sults. In  the  same  way  in  the  world  surrounding 
the  child  and  man,  the  most  various  kinds  of  ob- 
jects are  present  at  the  same  time  for  use  as  well  as 


128  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

for  consideration,  and  can  be  actually  used  at  the 
same  time  bj  the  man,  and  even  by  the  child  in  pro- 
portion to  the  stage  of  cultivation  he  has  attained. 

Third,  the  bringing  out  of  stick-laying  ac- 
cording to  its  spirit  and  use  teaches  us  that  the 
means  of  play  and  employment  as  a  whole,  as  well 
as  each  single  play-gift,  introduces  the  child  sym- 
bolically into  life  according  to  all  points  of  view, 
relations,  and  directions,  and  that  it  is  for  the  child 
a  truly  developing,  educating  means  of  cultivation. 
This  will  be  shown  more  and  more  clearly  in  the 
course  of  demonstration. 

Fourth,  here  again  is  presented  as  worthy  of 
consideration  what  has  already  been  shown  us  by 
the  study  of  our  modes  of  play  and  employment, 
namely,  that  the  development  and  representation  of 
the  manifold  presupposes  the  knowledge  of  the  sin- 
gle; but,  again,  the  knowledge  of  the  single  as  a 
member  of  a  higher  and  greater  whole  demands 
and  requires  the  knowledge  of  this  whole  as  its 
unity,  without  which  knowledge  the  single  can  not 
show  its  nature  again  in  manifoldness  and  perfec- 
tion— thus  three  in  one. 

Fifth,  if  we  now,  according  to  the  foregoing, 
consider  the  stick  as  a  member  of  the  whole  of  plays 
and  employments,  we  find,  according  to  the  funda- 
mental law  of  this  whole,  that  the  stick  includes  in 
itself  all  the  essential  properties  which  the  ball  con- 
tains in  itself  as  a  whole  and  as  a  member  of  the  sur- 


STICK-LAYING.  129 

rounding  world  of  objects.  Hence  it  has  the  prop- 
erty of  filling  space,  that  of  having  boundaries,  ma- 
terial or  contents,  coherence,  gravity,  extension, 
but  here  pre-eminently  in  the  direction  of  length, 
though  in  the  ball,  sphere,  cylinder,  etc.,  there  is 
extension  on  all  sides.  Hence  the  stick  has  also 
form,  size,  number,  color,  even  sound  and  elasticity. 

But  further  and  essentially  in  and  by  means 
of  the  visible  (for  example,  by  the  two  visible  ter- 
minal points)  there  appear  in  the  stick  the  invisible 
line  of  direction  and  the  middle  point  likewise  in- 
visible, but  sharply  defined  and  consequently  sepa- 
rating, and  at  the  same  time  in  a  remarkable  man- 
ner uniting.  The  stick,  therefore,  like  the  cube, 
sphere,  and  ball,  unites  the  highest  and  most  gen- 
eral laws  of  earth,  Nature,  and  the  whole  world, 
which  connect  and  unite  in  spirit.  Such  is  the 
law  of  unity  and  individuality,  and  that  of  oppo- 
sites  and  their  connection. 

From  the  middle  toward  each  of  the  two  end 
points  new  middles  are  again  postulated  as  points 
again  uniting  middle  and  ends,  thus  as  new  points 
of  connection,  and  so  on,  fixed  always  between  each 
two  newly  resulting  points,  thus  bringing  out  the 
phenomenon  and  law  of  continuity. 

In  like  manner  the  sticks  show  and  unite  the 
visible  and  invisible.  And  so  we  see  in  them  not 
only  the  essential  properties  of  the  cube,  cylinder, 
sphere,  ball,  etc.,  but  also  the  most  essential  proper- 


130  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ties  of  all  the  objects  which  surround  the  devel- 
oping child.  Therefore  the  stick  is  for  the  little  one 
a  means  of  introduction  (through  the  connection  of 
the  visible,  invisible,  and  invisibly  visible)  to  his 
own  life  and  to  the  surrounding  world. 

Having  hitherto  looked  at  the  stick  by  itself, 
we  can  now  view  it  in  its  relations  to  the  objects 
around  it,  and  thus,  first  of  all,  to  each  plane  or 
surface,  even  to  the  surface  of  the  earth  itself.  The 
stick  can  either  stand  in  upright  direction  toward 
the  earth,  and  in  this  direction  sink,  as  it  were  [or 
gravitate],  directly  (right)  toward  the  middle  of  the 
earth — that  is,  stand  perpendicular  (senhrecht) — 
or  it  may  incline  toward  the  surface  of  the  earth 
with  all  its  points  at  the  same  time  and  quite 
equally,  and  consequently  lie  horizontally,  or  it 
may  be  in  a  position  in  respect  to  the  earth,  which, 
as  it  were,  connects  both  relations — that  is,  in  an 
oblique  position.  'Now  all  these  properties  which 
slumbered,  hidden  in  the  stick,  as  it  were,  for  the 
child,  and  others  which  the  stick-play  brings  by  de- 
grees to  the  view  of  the  children,  are  what  gives  the 
stick  such  an  inexpressible  charm  and  such  an  en- 
chaining power  of  attraction  for  the  child  as  an 
object  and  means  of  play;  and,  indeed,  gives  the 
child,  as  a  creative  being,  the  premonition  that  the 
stick  affords  a  suitable  material  for  his  impulse  to 
creation. 

We  now  go  back  finally  to  the  stick-play  and 


STICK-LAYING.  131 

the  stick-laying.  The  stick  is,  for  the  child,  either 
a  middle  line  of  the  sphere  made  visible,  or  a  cut- 
off edge  of  the  cube,  or  one  of  the  sticks  which  are 
the  result  of  the  splitting  of  the  tablet,  or  a  straight 
line.  But  in  a  wider  point  of  view  the  stick  is  for 
the  child  the  representative  of  all  things  that  are 
straight.  And  the  play  is  connected  with  this  sim- 
ple connection  of  ideas,  this  simple  mode  of  com- 
prehension of  the  child.  We  see  whither  this  quite 
simple  way  of  comprehension  and  perception  leads 
our  child  in  his  symmetrical  development  as  a  crea- 
tive and  recognizing  and,  we  may  add,  as  a  feeling 
being.  From  this  point,  as  the  most  important  of 
the  whole,  we  come  back  to  the  presentation  of  the 
stick-laying. 

"VVe  will  now,  dear  reader,  enter  one  of  the 
Froebelian  kindergartens.  Here  sit  (since  an  in- 
terest in  kindergarten  has  arisen)  at  one  or  two,  or 
two  times  two  tables  joined  together  lengthwise  (in 
pairs),  and  not  so  very  far  from  one  another,  ten, 
twenty,  up  to  forty  children.  The  children  greet 
us  by  joyously  rising  and  turning  toward  us  with 
their  song  of  greeting: 

"  We  greet  yon,  we  greet  you, 
Kindly  we  say, 
Welcome  to-day, 
Welcome,  welcome." 

Kindergartner.  "  The  children  are  quite  right. 
You  have  come  to  us  just  at  the  right  time.     I 


132  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

might  say  with  the  greeting  song  (Willkommen), 
you  come  in  accordance  with  my  will — that  is,  my 
wish;  and  certainly  also  in  accordance  with  the 
wish  of  all  the  dear  children  [the  children,  "  Yes, 
yes  ''],  for  we  are  just  beginning  a  new  play.'' 

/.  "  That  is  fine. — Do  sit  down  at  once,  dear 
reader,  here  at  this  table;  there  is  some  space 
left." 

Kinder gartner,  '^  I  only  fear  that  the  play  will 
seem  too  insignificant  and  simple  for  these  dear 
visitors,  for  we  are  just  beginning  the  play  with  the 
sticks,  and  especially  the  stick-laying.  When  you 
came  in  I  was  about  to  begin  with  a  single  stick." 

7.  "  That  is  indeed  very  fine.  I  have  actually, 
as  you  said,  come  just  at  the  right  time  with  my 
somewhat  doubting  guest;  for  all  that  is  great,  if 
one  traces  it  back  to  its  germ  and  to  the  first  in- 
timations of  it,  begins  almost  always  with  that 
which  is  quite  insignificant,  and  the  manifold  goes 
forth  from  the  simple,  indeed  the  heavenly  from  the 
earthly,  just  because  the  latter  contains  the  heav- 
enly in  itself.  I  always  think  of  this  when  my  boy 
in  the  company  of  his  playmates  cuts  his  reed  flute 
in  the  spring,  and  when  I  go  into  the  church  and 
hear  a  Thuringian  chorister  of  the  genuine  stamp 
playing  on  the  organ,  with  its  vox  hiimana  stop, 
the  introduction  to  an  '^  Allein  Gott  "  ("  One  only 
God  "),  and  then  this  choral  itself,  and  see  as  an 
altarpiece  the  picture  of  St.  Cecilia,  the  inventor 


STICK-LAYING.  133 

of  the  organ,  transported  to  heaven.  This  is  what 
many  of  the  dear  visitors  whom  I  bring  here  with, 
me  will  not  at  all  believe,  viz.,  that  the  childlike, 
pure,  and  simple  in  its  constantly  continued  cul- 
tivation should  lead  to  heavenly  glorification. 
This  is  the  reason  that  the  knowledge  of  the  con- 
tinuous, which  has  just  been  manifoldly  illustrated 
by  the  reed  flute  and  the  organ,  is  so  highly  im- 
portant. A  visit  to  the  kindergarten  will,  of 
course,  not  show  us  this  to-day,  but  still  it  is  a 
beginning.  I  am  only  sorry,  dear  kindergartner, 
that  I  have  delayed  you  so  long.  Do  go  on,  and 
do  not  let  yourself  be  prevented  by  the  seeming  in- 
significance of  the  play  from  freely  carrying  it  out 
in  our  presence." 
Kindergartner. 

"  Gayly,  children,  one,  two,  three, 
Joyous  each  in  play  will  be. 

What  have  I  in  my  hand? " 

Children,  "  A  little  stick." 

"  What  can  you  tell  me  about  the  stick?  " 

Children,  "  It  is  straight,  it  is  long." 

"  Do  you  know  any  other  things  that  are 
straight  and  long? " 

Children,  ''Yes;  the — the " 

"  l^J^ow  only  thinh  of  what  you  know ;  afterward 

you  shall  show  it  to  us.     What  does  my  stick  do 

now  ? "  The  kindergartner  places  the  stick  upright 

on  the  surface  of  the  table. 
11 


134  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

Children,  "It  stands!'' 

"  Do  you  know  any  other  things  that  are 
straight  and  stand? " 

Children,  ''Yes;  the — the '' 

''  'Now  I  told  you  before  that  if  you  would  only 
think  about  it  for  a  while  you  should  show  it  to  us." 

The  children  look  at  one  another  and  laugh, 
for  they  can  not  show  anything. 

"  What  does  my  stick  do  now? ''  The  kinder- 
gartner  lays  it  flat  on  the  table. 

Children,  "  It  lies  down." 

''  Do  you  know  of  several  other  things  which 
are  straight  and  lie  down  ?  " 

Children,  "  Yes,  yes,  yes." 

Kinder gartner,  "  As  you  have  answered  me  so 
readily,  pleasantly,  and  quickly,  each  of  you  shall 
now  also  have  a  beautiful,  new,  clean,  smooth,  shin- 
ing stick  with  which  you  will  like  to  play."  The 
sticks  are  given  a  few  at  a  time  to  certain  children, 
who  then  pass  them  quickly  to  the  right  and  left 
as  well  as  opposite. 

"  ISTow  each  of  you  can  tell  and  show  me  of 
what  your  stick  is  a  picture  to  you,  of  what  it  re- 
minds you,  what  you  think  about  it,  and  what  you 
can  imagine  about  it. 

"  I  see  in  my  stick  my  bodkin."  As  the  kin- 
dergartner  says  this  she  lays  her  stick  on  the  table, 
touching  the  middle  line  (  |  ),  and  says  several 
times:  "  A  bodkin.     What  did  I  see  in  this  stick ?  " 


STICK-LAYING.  135 

All  "A  bodkin/' 

To  the  first  child,  ''  And  you?  " 

''  A  darning  needle/' 

The  kindergartner  lays  the  second  stick  beside 
the  first  at  a  little  distance  (  |  |  )  and  repeats,  "  A 
darning  needle/' 

"  What  do  you  see  in  the  stick? '' 

All,  "  A  darning  needle." 

So  the  kindergartner  goes  on  till  each  of  the 
twenty  children  at  the  double  table  has  seen  or 
shown  an  object  in  his  or  her  stick,  and  the  kin- 
dergartner has  laid  a  stick  on  the  table  for  each 
one,  so  that  now  more  than  twenty  sticks  lay  on 
the  table  in  the  middle : 


I   I   I   i   I   I   I   I   I   I   I   I  I   I   i   I   I   I  I   I   I   I   I 


''  Now  we  will  see  if  we  can  remember  all  that 
each  of  you  has  shown  us.  Each  of  you  must  pay 
attention  so  that  your  stick  may  not  be  called  by 
the  wrong  name  or  be  wholly  forgotten." 

The  kindergartner  begins,  pointing  at  the  name 
of  each  object  to  the  stick  which  represents  it,  and 
the  children  repeat: 

A  bodkin — a  darning  needle — a  match — a  slate 
pencil — a  beater — a  ruler — a  lead  pencil — a  flower 
stick — a  stick  of  wood — a  sail  needle — a  netting 
needle — a  cane — a  yardstick — a  candlestick — a 
candle — an  I — a  1 — a  toothpick — a  rafter — a  pil- 
lar— one  side  of  a  ladder — a  cigar — a  penholder. 


136  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

"  Before,  when  I  said  that  each  of  you  should 
show  me  what  you  saw,  you  looked  at  each  other, 
laughing,  and  thought  you  had  nothing  at  all  to 
show,  and  see  now  you  have  shown  me  more  than 
twenty  things. 

"  N^ow  can  some  of  you  show  me  where  each 
one's  object  lies? '' 

Children,  ''  Yes,  yes,  yes '' 

"  Who  has  the  match? ''  "  I.''  "  Where  does 
it  lie?''     ^^Here." 

^^Who  has  the  side  of  a  ladder?"  ^^  I." 
"  And  where  does  it  lie?  "     "  Here."     Etc.,  etc. 

And  now  you,  dear  reader,  who  have  accompa- 
nied me  hither,  have  the  confirmation,  if  you  believe 
in,  confide  in,  and  see  through  the  statement,  and 
you  who  doubt  and  are  unbelieving  have  the  proof 
that  manifoldness  proceeds  from  the  individual  and 
single  in  the  kindergarten;  indeed,  I  may  say  that 
something  proceeds  from  nothing.  For  instance, 
each  child  had  at  first  scarcely  one,  or  at  most  a 
few,  images  and  conceptions,  but  certainly  not  one 
that  was  clear.  ISTow  each  child  has  at  least  twen- 
ty, and  certainly  several  more  which  were  not  only 
aroused  within  him,  but  were  also  made  outwardly 
visible  and  named.  Have  you,  who  accompany  me 
and  examine  so  critically,  observed  how  gayly  and 
joyously  all  the  children  were  intent  on  what  each 
could  see  and  show  in  its  stick,  and  that  each  does 
not  see  and  show  the  same  which  others  have  al- 


STICK-LAYING.  137 

ready  seen  in  theirs?  Do  you  see  and  note  how 
the  children  look  at  one  another  with  such  joyous 
eyes?  They  now  have  a  common  treasure  among 
them.  By  this  common  treasure  there  has  been 
formed  in  and  among  them  a  quite  peculiar  spirit- 
ual bond  of  reciprocal  respect  and  acknowledgment, 
and  it  would  have  been  easy  to  increase  these  twenty 
perceptions  by  more  than  twenty  others.  In  what 
different  directions,  and  to  what  different  sides  in 
life,  is  the  child  led  thereby! 

Now,  are  not  the  children  right,  and  do  they 
not  know  and  feel  what  they  say  and  sing  when 
they  leave  the  kindergarten  with  the  song: 

"  In  all  things  that  we  do 
The  good  comes  into  view,      . 
The  beautiful,  the  true.  l 

Our  playtime  now  is  done 
And  gayly  home  we'll  run." 

N^ow,  dear  reader,  we  also  will  go  home  and 
critically  consider  somewhat  further  what  we  have 
heard  and  seen,  for  I  will  freely  confess  to  you  that 
it  has  been  with  me  to-day  as  it  always  is  when  I 
go  into  a  kindergarten,  that  I  come  away  from  it 
each  time  as  a  scholar,  even  in  my  old  age.  Thus 
I  have  also  learned  something  to-day.  And  what 
have  I  learned?  May  I  tell  you,  dear  reader?  I 
have  discovered,  first,  that  the  powers  of  memory 
and  imagination  are  considerably  increased  by  this 
employment,  and  long- vanished  images  come 'forth 


138  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

again  from  life  in  perfect  freshness  and  connec- 
tion. Second,  that  the  power  of  comparison  is  ex- 
ercised, things  of  the  same  kind  are  unconsciously 
brought  together  in  the  child's  mind.  Third,  that 
the  province  of  conceptions  and  perceptions  is  ex- 
tended. Fourth,  and  finally,  that  the  power  of 
perception  and  comprehension  is  sharpened. 

But  who  has  not  liked  to  learn  something  new 
and  liked  it  so  much  the  more  as  his  knowledge  of 
the  disclosures  of  life  springing  forth  from  within 
increases?  Manifold  material  for  new  perceptions 
forms  the  charm,  indeed  the  magic,  which,  reju- 
venating and  vivifying,  enchains  one  ever  anew  in 
the  kindergarten — that  is,  if  it  be  a  genuine  one. — 
"  May  I,  kindergartner,  come  back  to-morrow  at 
this  hour?  " 

Kindergartner,  "  The  master  is  always  wel- 
come, for  in  companionship  with  him  one  attains 
mastership." 

"  Will  you,  then,  accompany  me  again,  dear 
reader? '' 

"  I  think  so.'^ 

Good-day,  my  dear  reader!  You  have  come 
early  to  my  house  to  accompany  me  to  our  sensible 
kindergartner  and  her  happy  children.  This  is 
to  me  a  joyful  sign  of  your  very  lively  interest  in 
this  simple  subject. 

"  How  could  it  be  otherwise,  for  that  is  just 


STICK-LAYING.  139 

the  peculiarity  of  the  attractive  subject,  that  it  can 
be  so  enchaining  in  spite  of  its  simplicity.  For  I 
will  freely  confess  that  since  I  left  our  active  chil- 
dren in  the  happy  kindergarten  yesterday  the  sub- 
ject has  constantly  occupied  me,  and  I  have  actu- 
ally regarded  the  things  around  me  with  quite  dif- 
ferent eyes.  Indeed,  the  objects  themselves  have, 
as  it  were,  drawn  me  back  to  it.'' 

If  you,  my  dear  reader,  are  already  so  struck 
by  this  when  you  occupy  yourself  for  the  first 
time  with  the  subject,  how  much  more  will  it  sur- 
prise you  when  I,  before  whom  it  has  been  brought 
more  than  a  hundred  times,  am  obliged  to  confess 
that  this  has  been  the  case  with  me  also  since  yes- 
terday. I  have  been  continually  led  to  the  sticks 
we  had  yesterday  by  objects  which  suggest  the 
linear.  Can  you  give  me  a  reason  or  a  comparison 
for  this? 

"  I  can  not  give  a  reason  at  this  instant,  but 
I  will  give  you  a  comparison.  The  sticks  attract 
as  the  magnet  does  the  iron,  or  as  the  earth  mag- 
net attracts  the  magnetic  needle." 

Dear  reader,  you  who  thoughtfully  and  observ- 
antly accompany  me,  have  given  at  once  the  key 
for  the  solution  of  our  question  by  this  comparison. 
In  the  innermost  depths  of  the  earth,  unattainable 
by  us,  rests  a  power  the  nature  of  which  we  can 
not  understand.  This  is  the  magnetic  power  which 
directly  influences  every  magnetic  needle  that  is  so 


140  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

poised  as  to  admit  of  free  movement.  This  is  one 
fact  to  the  perception  of  which  this  comparison 
leads  us.  The  second  fact  is  that  each  magnet, 
when  developed  and  impressed  and,  I  might  say, 
organized  with  magnetic  power,  is  in  a  condition  to 
arouse  the  magnetically  attracting  but  as  yet  slum- 
bering power  in  each  simple  and  rough  bit  of  iron, 
as  well  as  to  affect  one  which  is  similarly  developed. 
Let  us  now,  while  in  the  kindergarten,  contempla- 
tively hold  fast  this  threefold  fact  and  expression  of 
the  magnetic  power. 

Thus,  first,  we  notice  the  fact  that  the  mag- 
netic power,  hidden  in  the  impenetrable  depths  of 
the  earth,  acts  in  inscrutable  and  equally  hidden 
ways  on  the  developed  needle  unobstructed  in  its 
movements.  The  second  fact  we  notice  is  that  this 
developed  magnet,  as  well  as  the  hidden  earth  mag- 
net, acts  on  the  magnetic  needle.  But  we  espe- 
cially remark  the  third  fact,  that  pieces  of  iron  and 
iron  things — as  yet  undeveloped  for  the  magnetism 
of  the  earth — call  forth,  awaken,  and  develop  the 
magnetic  power;  at  first,  indeed,  only  passingly, 
but  later,  with  continued  influence,  abidingly. 

But  now,  to  explain  the  attraction  of  our  stick, 
let  us  hold  fast  merely  the  generalization  of  these 
three  facts: 

1.  That  deeply  hidden,!  inscrutable,  general 
power  acts  arousingly  on  already  developed  indi- 
vidual power; 


STICK-LAYING.  141 

2.  That  developed  individual  power  acts  arous- 
ingly,  in  like  manner,  on  already  developed  power; 
and,  finally, 

3.  That  undeveloped  power  yet  slumbering  is 
indeed  aroused  by  a  power  already  clearly  organ- 
ized, but  sinks  back  into  itself  if  that  power  has 
not  been  aroused  to  a  certain  fixed  point. 

Here,  my  dear,  reflective,  accompanying  reader, 
you  have  an  intimation  of  the  explanation  of  the 
magnetic  effect  of  our  stick,  of  the  stick-laying  and 
stick-play,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  hint  of  the  ex- 
planation of  the  attractive  power  of  each  play  in 
our  play-whole,  and  of  the  developing,  educating, 
actually  formative  power  of  this  whole.  The  ex- 
planation is  as  follows:  The  magnetic  force  abides 
hidden  in  the  innermost  depths  of  the  earth  and 
acts  with  outwardly  operative  power  on  the  small- 
est outside  specimen  of  its  kind  which  is  developed 
to  independence,  and  with  this  acts  in  the  three- 
fold way  mentioned.  In  a  similar  manner  a  con- 
stantly invisible  and  not  less  attractive  outwardly 
acting  inner  power  abides  in  Nature  as  a  whole, 
as  well  as  in  the  parts  of  Nature.  An  example  of 
this  is  given  in  our  little  simple  and  yet  tangible 
stick,  not  only  by  the  middle  line  which  is  indi- 
cated by  its  visible  ends,  and  is  hence,  as  it  were, 
visibly  invisible,  but  also  by  the  middle  of  this 
line  which  is  purely  invisible,  merely  perceptible 
to  the  intellect,  though  never  to  be  made  visible. 


142  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

But  this  power  abides  in  the  stick  not  merely  as 
a  part,  but  as  an  actual  whole  in  itself,  and  at 
the  same  time  a  part  of  the  great  whole  of  Is'a- 
ture  and  life,  here,  first  of  all,  of  the  earth. 
This  inner  power,  abiding  in,  and  wholly  insepa- 
rable from,  each  visible  thing  around  us,  even  if  it 
be  the  smallest  grain  of  sand  or  the  bit  of  wood 
with  which  we  play,  this  inner  power  hidden  in 
each  thing  is  what  effects  a  certain  invisible  (if  it 
is  not  permissible  to  say  spiritual)  relationship  of 
things  to  one  another,  and  also  affects  our  culti- 
vated minds  by  its  arousing  power  of  attraction  as 
the  earth  magnet  does  the  easily  movable  magnetic 
needle.  In  this  extremely  delicate  yet  effective  re- 
ciprocal relation  of  the  invisible,  the  innermost,  in 
each  thing  to  the  things  around  it  as  well  as  to 
the  observant  spirit,  lies  the  peculiar  charm  of  the 
employment  with  the  sticks,  not  only  for  our  chil- 
dren but  also  for  the  kindergartners,  and  for  every 
one  who  takes  a  true,  warm  interest  in  these  em- 
ployments. Indeed,  whoever  will  give  himself  up 
calmly  and  without  prejudice  to  what  the  activity 
of  his  own  spirit  requires  will  be  unconsciously 
drawn  into  this  sympathy.  This  is  the  effect  of 
the  hidden,  always  invisible,  inner  power.  In  this 
is  conditioned  the  innermost  nature  and  relation  of 
the  kindergartner  to  the  children  intrusted  to  her 
charge,  and  that  of  the  children  to  one  another,  as 
well  as,  in  general,  the  effect  of  education.     But 


STICK-LAYING.  143 

this  fact  lias  been  hitherto  wholly  overlooked. 
Herein  is  also  given  the  innermost  nature  of  the 
kindergartens,  as  well  as  of  the  reciprocal  relation 
between  the  kindergartens  and  the  children  who 
attend  them,  and  also  in  general  of  that  training 
of  the  human  being  which  educates  by  develop- 
ing. The  nature  of  the  power  and  of  the  spirit 
is  here  brought  back  to  its  most  general  expres- 
sion and  to  its  most  general  comprehension  and 
perception,  being  the  innermost.  I  place  great 
value  on  this  fact.  We  will  later  return  to 
this  subject. 

But  we  have  reached  our  goal.  The  song  tells 
us  so.     Let  us  enter. 

Kinder gartner,  "  I  have  just  introduced  our 
little  playmate  at  the  present  time,  our  stick,  into 
our  circle  and  welcomed  it  again.  If  you  please 
I  will  go  on." 

"  That  is  not  only  a  matter  of  course,  but  it  is 
our  wish  and  the  reason  of  our  return." 

The  leader  of  the  play,  speaking  in  a  singing 

tone : 

"  One,  two,  three, 
Each  must  now  attentive  be." 

''  How  many  sticks  did  we  lay  at  a  time  yes- 
terday? " 

"  Only  one." 

''  Well,  each  of  you  has  a  stick.  But  shall  we 
not  go  further  to-day?" 


144  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

She  is  answered  partly  by  quiet,  bright,  aflfec- 
tionate  glances,  and  partly  by  a  joyous  "  Yes.'' 

''  Well,  then,  each  of  you  can  have  another 
stick.     But  tell  me  how  many  sticks  each  has?  " 

All  together.  "  Two  sticks.'' 

"  Now  see  once  more  which  of  the  things  you 
know  you  can  lay  with  them;  that  will  be  a  kind 
of  drawing."  ^ 

Shall  we,  my  dear  accompanying  reader,  join 
the  children,  ask  the  dear  kindergartner  for  two 
sticks,  and  see  if  we  also,  like  our  dear  children, 
can  not  make  or  draw  something  with  the  sticks 
which  might  not  immediately  occur  to  the  chil- 
dren? 

Kindergartner,  "  I  do  that  also,  as  you,  my 
dear  visitors,  will  immediately  see,  as  I  am  thus 
a  child  with  the  children.  This  has  a  very  good 
effect  on  them.  First,  it  pleases  them  very  much 
when  a  grown-up  person,  and  especially  a  dear  visi- 
tor, will  become  a  child  with  children.  They  feel 
more  growm-up  for  this  union.  It  rouses  their 
mettle,  increases  their  power  of  will  and  action,  and 
their  joyousness  in  representation.  Second,  new 
perceptions  will  be  called  out  in  them  as  older  ones 
are  recalled  to  their  remembrance." 

You  see  here  in  another  way,  my  attentive,  ac- 
companying reader,  the  influence  of  the  invisible, 
especially  in  the  kindergarten.  As  the  invisible  is 
efficient  in  its  working  in  the  flower  and  vegetable 


STICK-LAYING.  145 

garden,  so  is  it  here  in  the  kindergarten  for  the 
good  of  the  children  who  are  guided  and  exercised 
by  the  conscious  child-fostering. 

As  no  sun  ray,  no  shadow,  is  without  its  effect 
in  a  well-tended  garden  of  plants,  so  in  the  genuine 
kindergarten  no  activity,  even  the  smallest,  is  with- 
out its  effect  on  the  likewise  receptive  little  human 
plants  within.  In  this  all-sided  thoughtful  consid- 
eration of  that  which  is  invisible,  but  just  for  that 
reason  efficacious,  lies  the  result  of  kindergarten 
fostering,  often  so  inexplicable  to  those  who  have 
not  advanced  in  the  study  of  the  science. 

Kinder gartner,  "  Now  tell  me  what  pretty 
things  you  have  each  laid." 

A  candlestick;  knife  and  fork;  a  bridge  over 
a  brook  (two  sticks  close  together);  the  two  sides 
of  a  ladder  (two  sticks  a  little  apart  from  one  an- 
other and  parallel);  a  mill  flume,  or  mill  brook 
(two  sticks  a  little  farther  apart);  a  hammer;  an 
auger;  a  pair  of  tongs  (two  sticks  crossing  one  an- 
other somewhat  above  the  middle);  a  pair  of  scis- 
sors for  cutting  paper  (two  sticks  crossing  one  an- 
other somewhat  below  the  middle). 

The  kindergartner,  as  before,  lays  each  of  the 
objects  represented  by  the  children  on  the  table  in 
the  middle,  so  that,  first,  each  child  sees  itself  rec- 
ognized in  its  work;  then,  that  the  product  of  the 
individual  may  become  a  common  good;  and  also, 
finally,  that,  for  the  future,  the  creative  power  of 


146  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

each  child  may  be  enhanced  and  its  natural  quali- 
ties, ideas,  and  conceptions  be  increased  and  cleared 
by  the  comparison  of  the  different  objects. 

"  But  now  pay  attention  to  what  I  will  show 
you,  children.     What  do  I  do  now  ? '' 

"  You  beckon.'^ 

"  With  what  do  I  beckon? '' 

"  With  your  finger.'' 

"  What  is  the  finger  with  which  I  beckon 
called?" 

"  The  pointing  finger."  (In  many  localities  it 
is  also  called  the  beckoning  finger.) 

"  Why  is  this  finger  also  called  a  pointing 
finger?  "^ 

"  You  point  with  it." 

"  How  do  I  hold  my  finger  when  I  point 
with  it?" 

"  Quite  straight." 

"  What  do  I  now  do  again  with  my  finger?  " 

"  You  beckon." 

"  How  do  I  hold  my  finger  when  I  beckon  with 
it?     Is  it  still  straight?" 

"  No,  it  is  bent." 

Now  see  here.  The  space  within  my  finger 
when  I  bend  it  so  is  called  the  angle  (WinkeT),  be- 
cause I  beckon  (WinJce)  with  it.  See,  now  I  place 
the  point  of  the  stick  exactly  in  the  angle  of  the 
finger.     Where  does  my  stick  lie  now  ?  " 

"  Inside  of  the  angle." 


STICK-LAYING.  147 

"  See  here,  now  I  will  beckon  again.  If  I 
beckon  again  with  my  finger  and  make  an  angle 
with  it,  into  how  many  parts  do  I  divide  my  finger 
in  that  way? '' 

"  Into  two  parts.'^ 

"  You  are  right ;  and  see,  the  lower  part  is  still 
and  the  upper  part  moves.  But  see  here  again.  Do 
I  now  make  different  angles  with  my  finger  when 
I  beckon?  How  many  kinds  of  angles  do  I 
make?  '^ 

"  Three  kinds:  one  is  little  and  one  is  big,  and 
one  is  neither  little  nor  big." 

"  Now,  because  you  have  to-day  laid  such  pretty 
things,  I  will  tell  you  something  more.  The  little 
angle  is  called  a  sharp  angle ;  the  big  angle  is  called 
a  blunt  angle;  and  this  one,  which  never  varies, 
the  right  angle.  Have  you  also  a  pointing  finger? 
Can  you  also  make  an  angle?  Then  make  a  sharp 
angle.  That  is  right.  Now  a  right  angle,  and 
now  a  blunt  angle.  But  see  here;  I  can  also  lay 
an  angle  with  two  sticks.  What  kind  of  an  angle 
have  I  laid?'' 

"  A  sharp  angle." 

"  Can  you  each  lay  a  sharp  angle  with  your  two 
sticks?" 

"  Oh,  yes!  " 

"  Then  do  it.  Quite  right.  But  I  can  also  lay 
a  blunt  angle.     Whoever  can,  may  do  it." 


148  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

''  But  I  can  also  lay  a  right  angle.  Who  can 
do  that?" 

"  Good;  lay  a  sharp  angle.  See  here.  The 
sharp  angle,  because  it  gets  sharper  or  smaller  all 
the  time,  says: 

"  I  smaller  grow,  you  see  ; 

and  the  blunt  angle,  because  it  becomes  always 
more  blunt  and  larger,  says: 

"  Wider  to  grow  suits  me ; 

and  the  right  angle,  because  it  always  stays  the 
same,  says: 

"  I  never  do  grow  smaller,  nor  larger  do  I  grow ; 
The  same  unchanging  figure  is  what  I  always  show." 

"  Now,  dear  kindergartner,  sing  the  little  angle 
song  once  more  for  us,  and  we  will  lay  the  angles." 
The  kindergartner  sings  the  little  song  mentioned 
by  the  children  while  they  lay  the  different  angles. 
•  Kindergartner,  "  Who  can  lay  something 
else?" 

A  collier's  hut;  a  pair  of  compasses;  a  bridge; 
the  gable  of  a  roof;  two  turnstiles;  half  a  saw- 
horse;  part  of  a  garden  fence. 

Kindergartner  (to  the  visitors).  '^  But  will  you 
not  ask  me  something,  so  that  you  and  my  dear 
children  may  see  if  I  also  know  something?  " 

"  Very  well.     What  do  all  the  things  which 


STICK-LAYING.  149 

have  just  been  named  show  in  respect  to  their 
angles?  '^ 

Kinder gartner,  ''  The  sticks  of  the  collier's  hut 
and  those  of  the  compasses  form  sharp  angles;  the 
sticks  of  the  bridge  form  a  blunt  angle,  and  those 
of  the  gable  form  a  right  angle;  those  of  the  turn- 
stile form  four  right  angles,  and  those  of  the  half  of 
a  sawhorse  and  those  of  the  part  of  a  garden  f encg^ 


form  two  sharp  and  two  blunt  angles."         j^^-^^^l^^^^"^ 

"  Is  your  auntie  right,  children?  "  f  UNIVERSIT 

^^  Indeed  she  is  right.''  ^s^  CALiFO^Ji)^ 

Kindergartner.  "  E'ow,  because  you  are  so  sure 

that    I   was    right,    I    will    show   you    something 

rigM,     Stand  up,    all   of  you.     Place   yourselves 

straight  before  the  table.     Take  a  stick  with  the 

tips  of  the  pointing  finger  and  thumb  of  your  right 

hand,  hold  it  high  above  the  table  so  that  the  lower 

end  of  the  stick  points  straight  toward  the  table; 

after  I  have  counted  one,  two,  three,  etc.,  let  it  fall, 

and  see  what  else  it  will  do.     Now  pay  attention: 

*'  One,  two,  three, 
Let  the  sticks  go  free." 

All  the  children  do  it. 

"  What  have  you  noticed  about  the  stick?  " 

"  When  it  fell  down  it  sprang  up  again." 

"  Yes. 

Upright  now  down  falls  the  stick ; 

Upright  then  it  springs  back  quick 

In  the  air. 
12 


150  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

Now  we  will  do  it  once  more,  and  at  the 
same  time  sing  the  song  for  it.''  They  do  so. 
"  Now  take  two  sticks  in  your  right  hand  just  as  I 
do  and  tell  me  of  what  do  these  two  sticks  so  held 
and  so  moved  remind  you.  What  object  do  they 
recall  to  your  mind? '' 

Several,  "  A  steelyard.'' 

"  You  see  the  lower  stick  lies  exactly  right 
(recht),  like  the  beam  of  a  steelyard  (Wage),  so  this 
position,  or  direction,  is  called  horizontal  (wag- 
recht),  and  the  other  stick,  because  it  sinks  (senld) 
straight  to  the  table  in  a  right  line,  is  called  per- 
pendicular (senkrecht).  Now  we  will  lay  the  sticks 
of  the  steelyard  vertically  and  horizontally  on  the 
table." 

Kemark. — In  the  actual  kindergarten  the  per- 
ception and  knowledge  of  the  angles  and  of  their 
nature  is  much  exercised  by  the  earlier  plays  and 
perceptions — by  the  limb,  ball,  movement,  and 
building  plays — and  the  knowledge  of  these  angles 
in  the  kindergarten  is  here  presupposed.  Only,  for 
the  benefit  of  those  readers  to  whom  these  plays  (or 
at  least  the  originally  developed  course  of  exercises 
in  these  plays)  are  strange  and  for  those  who  wish  to 
use  the  stick-laying  without  the  preparatory  plays, 
means  and  ways  to  develop  the  conception  of  the 
angle  and  its  relation  in  the  province  of  stick-laying 
should  be  here  shown.  Another  reason  why  these 
ways  and  means  should  be  shown  is  for  the  pur- 


STICK-LAYma.  151 

pose  of  justifying  the  earlier  expressed  assertion 
that  each  play  is  in  itself  a  whole,  as  well  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  whole — that  is,  bears  in  itself  all  the 
essential  properties  of  the  general  whole,  and  so 
also  of  each  individual  play,  but  in  its  own  peculiar 
way.  A  twofold  phenomenon  is  grounded  on  this 
in  and  by  the  free  creative  employment  of  chil- 
dren: first,  that  the  child  in  each  thing,  as  an  ob- 
ject of  his  activity,  finds  something  (properties) 
which  he  delights  to  perceive  and  recognize;  sec- 
ond, that  the  child  treats  everything  as  material 
with  which  to  employ  himself,  by  means  of  which 
to  create  and  by  means  of  which  he  can  represent 
externally  something  which  exists  in  himself.  And 
so  everything  (especially  the  plays  of  the  play- 
whole)  stands  (in  a  way  of  which  the  educator  is 
clearly  conscious)  in  a  double  relation  to  the  child: 
first,  in  an  arousing,  representing  relation;  then 
again  in  a  relation  of  taking  up  into  itself,  as  it 
were,  and  re-presenting  the  child's  conceptions  and 
the  activity  resulting  from  them.  In  this  double 
relation  of  our  play  material  (well  weighed  in  re- 
spect to  aim  and  means)  to  the  child,  in  the  rela- 
tion of  the  inworking  charm  and  the  outworking, 
formative  impulse  which  stands  visibly  before  the 
child  as  a  result,  lies  the  satisfactoriness  for  the 
child  (once  more  through  the  play  in  general),  as 
well  as,  quite  predominantly,  the  joyousness  in  the 
employment  with  the  plays  of  our  whole  of  plays 


152     EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

and  employments  presented  with,  consciousness  of 
the  aim  and  means. 

These  inner,  spiritual,  invisible  phenomena  in 
the  child,  easily  perceptible  by  the  quietly  and 
thoughtfully  observing  spirit,  must  be  clearly  rec- 
ognized in  order  to  recognize  and  correctly  estimate 
the  true  nature  of  a  kindergarten,  as  well  as  of  the 
fostering  of  children  and  manner  of  employment 
therein  practiced,  and  the  spirit,  nature,  and  effect 
of  each  play  on  the  child.  For  this  reason  I 
have  so  long  dwelt  on  the  inner  aspect  of  the  play 
material,  and  especially  of  my  objects  of  play,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  child.  This  will  also  explain 
(for  on  this  the  fact  is  founded)  why  already  pre- 
pared play  material  is  so  much  less  liked  by  the  chil- 
dren than  the  simple  and  little  prepared,  and  why 
children  are  so  ready  to  put  aside  the  former  for  the 
simple  material  offered  them  in  the  kindergarten. 
Of  this  fact  many  examples  have  been  related 
to  me. 

This  deeper  and  more  spiritual  insight  into  the 
inner  reciprocal  relation  between  the  child  (who  is 
unfolding  himself  in  play)  and  his  play  material, 
was  here  required  for  the  correct  comprehension  of 
the  whole  nature  of  that  early  fostering  of  child- 
hood which  educates  by  developing,  which  keeps 
the  children  busy,  and  which  itself  creates.  But 
you,  my  dear  reader,  you,  dear  mothers,  and  you 
who   help   the   mothers   in   many   ways,    as   well 


STICK-LAYING.  153 

as  you,  brave  teachers  of  national  and  country 
schools,  who  lack  time  to  obtain  this  clear  insight 
into  the  inner  nature  of  this  way  of  employing  chil- 
dren before  actively  engaging  in  your  vocation, 
need  not  be  discouraged  from  acquiring  this  in- 
sight. Do  not  let  yourself  be  prevented  by  the 
above-stated  requirement  from  constantly  using  this 
or  any  other  play  for  the  children  committed  to 
your  charge,  as  the  stage  of  their  development  re- 
quires. Only  go  according  to  your  own  and  the 
child's  natural  impulse  (the  instinctive  demand  of 
your  own  as  well  as  the  child's  inner  nature),  which 
transmutes  itself  in  reciprocal  charms.  For  you 
see  the  child's  favorite  playmate  is  the  child  who 
wholly  gives  himself  up  to  the  play  and  enters  into 
it.  Therefore,  trusting  in  the  child  and  the  ob- 
ject of  play,  become  a  child  with  the  child.  Only 
in  what  you  do,  consider  your  employment,  its 
grounds,  influence,  and  results,  and  seek  by  de- 
grees to  become  conscious  of  them,  and  you  will, 
through  your  own  trusting,  examining,  and  com- 
paring consideration  of  your  own  activity,  attain 
to  the  deeper  insight  just  required,  not  only  into 
the  nature  of  the  child  and  of  its  life,  but  also  into 
your  own,  as  well  as  into  the  nature  of  life  in  gen- 
eral. This  is  just  the  blessing,  the  invisible  reward, 
of  that  genuine  developing  nurture  of  childhood. 

You,  my  dear  reader,  who  were  here  like  a 
child  with  the  child  and  as  busy  as  he,  will  have  al- 


154  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ready  experienced  at  least  a  part  of  what  is  here 
said.  I  rejoice  in  the  quiet  pressure  of  your  hand 
and  your  grateful  glance;  these  are  an  assurance 
of  the  benefit  you  will  derive  from  coming  here 
to-day  with  me. 

Since  you  have  followed  thus  far  my  presenta- 
tion of  the  inner  nature  of  this  play,  I  must  ask 
you  to  accompany  me  yet  further.  That  which 
you  see  here  before  you  consciously  represented  by 
the  children  and  which  shows  a  remarkable  inner 
connection  suggests  to  me  the  continuation  of  this 
inner  connection.  For  the  inner  life  of  the  chil- 
dren is  revealed  to  us  by  what  they  have  done,  and 
we  enter  thereby  the  most  secret  workshop  of  their 
spiritual  activity. 

See,  my  kind  companion,  what  lies  here  before 
us.  Here  is  a  turnstile  (that  is,  one  stick  placed 
vertically  and  another  placed  horizontally  and 
touching  it  in  the  middle);  close  by  it  is  a  turn- 
stile in  an  oblique  position  (the  two  sticks  crossing 
one  another  at  right  angles);  near  this  again,  two 
sticks  crossing  one  another  in  the  middle  at  an 
oblique  angle  in  the  extension  of  height;  close  to 
these  is  the  same  form  in  the  extension  of  length. 
Is  this  indeed  accident? 

If  we  look  closely  and  compare, 
We  surely  find  an  answer  there. 

Now,  then,  what  does  our  calm,  comparing  in- 
spection show  us?     The  diagonal  or  obliquely  lying 


STICK-LAYIlSra.  155 

lines  or  directions  which  the  two  obliquely  lying 
sticks  show  to  us  tangibly  are  intimated  invisibly 
in  the  first  sticks  which  stand  straight  and  are  at 
right  angles;  and,  on  the  contrary,  the  right  lines 
or  directions  which  the  two  sticks  which  stand  at 
right  angles  show  us  tangibly  are  intimated  invisi- 
bly in  the  obliquely  lying  sticks.  And  so  we  see 
what  the  one  shows  visibly  is  in  the  other  invisible, 
but  perceptible  to  the  inner  eye.  Here  we  see  again 
the  working  of  the  invisible.  Let  us  go  further. 
Our  eye  connects  the  ends  in  each  of  the  two  crosses 
by  four  invisible  straight  lines,  and  so  two  squares 
result  which  lie  opposite  to  each  other  (the  first  in 
an  oblique  position  as  an  opposite  square,  the  sec- 
ond as  a  principal  square)."^  The  two  obliquely 
lying  sticks  which  cross  each  other  also  show  some- 
thing similar;  their  ends,  invisibly  connected  by 
lines,  form  also  two  quadrangles — not  squares,  but 
rectangles ;  the  first,  being  in  the  extension  of 
height,  forms  a  high  rectangle,  but  the  second, 
being  in  the  extension  of  length,  forms  a  long  rec- 
tangle. 

You  see,  therefore,  my  thoughtful,  accompany- 
ing reader,  how  here  it  is  primarily  the  connection 
of  the  visible  and  invisible,  the  connection  of  the 
opposites,  which  is  so  attractive  in  the  children's 
employments;  but  that  which  is  invisible  yet  per- 

*  Referring  to  the  perceptions  gained  by  the  fundamental 
folding.— Tr. 


156  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ceptible  and  whicli  really  acts  is  especially  attract- 
ive, and  therefore  should  be  principally  considered. 
This  consideration  constitutes  the  nature  of  a  kin- 
dergarten. 

Kindergartner.  ''  Now,  my  dear  visitors,  you 
shall  see  what  pretty  things  my  diligent  children 
have  laid  while  you  have  been  so  eagerly  talking 
to  one  another.  Children,  can  you  name  all  these 
things  for  our  dear  visitors?  " 

"  Oh,  yes !  oh,  yes !  " 

''  I^Tow,  then,"  pointing. 

One  child  alone,  "  A  level." 

Kindergartner,   "  Together." 

All,  "  A  level."  In  this  way  each  object 
named  by  a  single  child  is  each  time  repeated  in 
chorus  in  order  to  increase  the  perception. 

"  A  smith's  tongs  "  (the  sticks  cross  each  other 
below  the  two  upper  ends) ;  "  a  long  hop  pole  " 
(two  sticks  touching  one  another  at  the  ends  and 
placed  in  the  same  direction);  ^^  two  bean  poles"; 
"  a  lead  pencil  and  a  slate  pencil " ;  "a  whip  " ; 
"  a  carpenter's  square  " ;  ^^  a  sand  clock  or  hour- 
glass " ;  '"  a  fishing  rod  and  line  " ;  "a  watchhouse 
in  an  orchard  ";  "  a  tent." 

Kindergartner.  ^^  It  is  very  profitable  for  the 
children  to  repeat  the  same  forms  with  differ- 
ent names,  as  these  forms  then  make  a  deeper  im- 
pression on  the  children;  for  instance,  the  two  last- 
named   objects   with   the   collier's  hut   previously 


STICK-LAYING.  157 

made,  or  a  churcli  cross  or  cliiircliyard  cross  and  a 
signpost/' 

Kinder gartner  (to  the  children).  "  These  two 
last  things  can  not  be  well  shown  with  two 
sticks.  It  will  be  better  to  leave  them  till  you  have 
three  sticks  apiece.  That  is  true  also  of  the  level. 
Even  my  steelyard  might  have  been  left  till  then. 
Indeed,  I  should  have  left  it  till  then  if  I  had  not 
wished  to  show  you  why  we  say  horizontal  {wag- 
recht)  as  I  did  before  why  we  say  vertical  or  per- 
pendicular (senhrecht).^^ 

Kinder  gartner  (to  the  visitors).  "  I  permit  the 
children  at  times  to  make  such  representations  as 
correspond  but  little  to  the  actual  forms,  so  that 
they  may  be  led  so  much  the  more  to  look  at  what 
they  have  represented,  and  compare  it  with  the  ob- 
ject they  wish  to  represent." 

"  Let  us  now  count  how  many  forms  we  have. 
Thirty-four.  Then  there  are  thirty-four  forms  and 
objects  which  you  have  together  made.  Now  look 
at  all  of  them  closely  once  more.  Now  I  will  take 
up  the  sticks,  and  then  each  one  of  you  may  try 
to  make  as  many  of  the  forms  you  have  just  seen 
as  you  can  remember.  I  will  give  each  of  you  two 
sticks  as  often  as  you  need  them.'' 

Kindergartner  (to  the  visitors).  "  I  like  par- 
ticularly to  give  this  exercise,  for  it  makes  the 
children  conscious  of  a  number  of  conceptions  and 
perceptions.     This  arouses  the  power  as  well  as  the 


158  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

mettle  of  the  children,  and  also  arouses  the  joyous- 
ness  and  activity  of  the  representation,  as  you  will 
soon  see.'' 

The  children  (now  one,  now  another).  "  Please 
give  me  two  more  sticks.''  "  Please  give  me  two 
more  sticks."  "  Please  give  me  two  more  sticks, 
too." 

See  here,  thoughtful  reader,  the  effect  of  the 
formed  and  heightened  power  of  life.  Thus  life 
early  receives  for  the  child  a  significance,  the  child's 
intellect  receives  a  material  for  thoughtful  compari- 
son, its  mind  and  heart  the  joyous  feeling  of  satis- 
faction, its  body  the  strengthening  feeling  of  abil- 
ity. The  senses  receive  certainty  of  perception; 
the  members,  especially  the  hands  and  fingers, 
adroitness  of  representation.  You  can  see  here  in 
this  little  insignificant  play,  my  dear  reader,  the 
effect  which  is  the  aim  of  the  whole  of  the  kinder- 
garten as  well  as  of  these  plays  as  a  whole  and  also 
as  an  individual  part — fitness  for  life  and  life 
union. 

Kinder gartner.  "  I  would  like  to  call  your  at- 
tention to  something  else  in  respect  to  these  two 
effects. — Emil,  how  many  figures  have  you? " 
"Eight."  "And  you,  Emmie?"  "Ten."  "And 
you,  my  little  Maggie?"  ''Six."  "And  you, 
my  diligent  Eobert?  "  "  Fifteen."  "  That  pleases 
me;  it  shows  that  you  paid  great  attention.  And 
you,  my  quiet  Augustus?  "     "  Thirteen."     "  That 


STICK-LAYINa.  159 

is  right;  always  reach  forth  to  the  things  which 
are  before.'^  ^^  But  I  have  eighteen!''  "Who 
is  IV  "Charles."  "Well,  you  are  the  oldest 
and  the  largest,  and  so  it  is  only  right  that  you 
should  have  the  most.  You  see,  dear  visitors, 
that  the  children  have  kept  in  mind  different  num- 
bers of  forms  and  different  forms  among  those 
at  which  they  previously  looked.  The  cause  of 
this  difference  is  the  difference  of  connecting 
power  in  the  minds  of  the  children;  but  partly 
in  order  to  bring  this  power  to  consciousness  and 
partly  to  strengthen  and  enhance  it,  I  bring  the 
different  forms  which  have  been  again  produced 
by  one  or  more  children  into  a  little  connected 
story.  And  if  the  objects  are  not  too  numerous  I 
include  them  all.  Thus  it  becomes  apparent  that 
each  individual  form  has  a  purpose,  and  the  whole 
acquires  connection  and  significance.  By  this 
means  also  are  attained  by  the  child  with  conscious- 
ness what  you  just  mentioned  as  the  object  of 
the  whole — viz.,  harmony  of  life  and  fitness  for 
life.  This  greatly  delights  the  children,  because 
their  little  creations  thus  receive  life  and  recog- 
nition. The  older  children  will  soon  try  to  find 
a  certain  connection  between  the  things  they 
make."  More  will  be  said  on  this  subject  at  a 
later  period. 

What  do  you  think  now,  dear  reader? 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  where  such  harmony  orig- 


160  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

inates  in  youtli  it  must  also  be  represented  in  later 
life." 

"Farewell,  children;  be  always  as  dear  and 
good  as  we  have  found  you  to-day." 

Kinder gartner,  "  If  you  will  wait  a  few  min- 
utes we  will  sing  the  reply. — Mary,  Anna,  Mar- 
garet, you  may  take  up  the  sticks. — I  let  the  chil- 
dren with  whom  I  am  particularly  pleased  help  me 
in  kindergarten  as  a  reward."     To  the  assembled 

children : 

"  One,  two,  three, 
In  a  ring  go  we." 

"  Our  dear  visitors  told  you  to  '  be  dear  and  good.^ 

Now,  what  closing  song  will  you  sing  in  reply  to 

this  request?  " 

All,  "  Our  playtime  now  is  done." 

Kinder gartner,  "  Very  well;  we  will  go  round 

to  the  right  while  singing: 

"  Our  playtime  now  is  done, 
And  gayly  home  we  run." 


The  kindergartner  with  a  clear  voice: 

"  Farewell,  farewell, 
Be  dear  and  good." 

The  children,  softly  answering: 

"  Farewell,  farewell. 
We  will  be  dear  and  good." 

To  the  kindergartner:   "Farewell!" 


UNIVERSITY 


FEIEBEICH  FROEBEL,  HIS  FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES 
OF  EDUCATION,  HIS  MEANS  ^ND  MODES  OF  EDUCA- 
TION, AS  WELL  AS  HIS  EDUCATIONAL  AIM  AND 
OBJECT,    IN    RELATION    TO    THE    TENDENCIES    AND 

REQUIREMENTS   OF   THE   TIME. REPRESENTED   BY 

HIMSELF. 

Where  could  there  be  now,  in  any  position,  vo- 
cation, or  profession,  a  human  being  who  had  not 
been  drawn  by  it  to  be  observant  of  the  different 
phenomena  and  manifold  facts  of  the  time  in  which 
we  live? 

But  if  we  turn  away  from  this  multitude  of 
phenomena  of  the  time,  hard  and  grasping  as  their 
effects  may  be  on  spirit,  mind,  and  life,  and  direct 
our  attention  to  the  character  of  the  time  itself  and 
endeavor  to  survey  at  a  glance  the  whole  in  respect 
to  its  causes  and  foundation,  to  its  innermost  spirit 
and  aim,  we  find  that  it  is  the  impulse,  the  effort 
after  development,  cultivation,  and  continued  train- 
ing— in  one  word,  it  is  education,  the  striving  for 
education,  which  generally  and  vigorously  moves 

men  and  nations,  which  gives  to  the  time  its  char- 

161 


162  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

acter,  its  whole  expression,  whicK  constitutes  the 
spirit  of  the  time  and  determines  the  aim  of  its 
efforts. 

If  we  now  seek  out  the  final  innermost  cause 
of  this  it  is  expressed  in  an  uninterrupted,  lasting 
phenomenon  which  lies  near  to  us — namely,  in  the 
revolution,  the  periodicity,  and  the  cyclical  recur- 
rence of  almost  all  the  phenomena  of  life.  What 
we  now  remark  each  day  in  the  change  of  the  times 
of  day,  each  year  in  the  change  of  the  seasons,  and 
in  ourselves  in  the  change  of  the  ages  of  life,  recurs 
also  with  the  human  race  and  humanity  considered 
as  a  whole,  as  it  were,  as  one  human  being.  As  it 
runs  through  the  year  in  seasons,  for  example,  it 
likewise  necessarily  and  in  strict  order,  indeed  in 
unavoidable  sequence,  runs  through  great  times 
and  sections  of  its  vivid  expression,  only  that  these 
changes  are  measured  here  by  thousands  of  years, 
as  in  the  former  case  by  months,  weeks,  and  days. 

In  the  beginning  of  such  a  large,  sharply  de- 
fined section  of  time,  such  a  period  of  the  develop- 
ment of  humanity  and  life,  we  now  stand.  We 
have  lived  in  it  for  some  time  without  having  ren- 
dered to  it  the  special  and  vigorous  attention  and 
observation  which  are  really  its  due.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  explain  this  neglect  if  it  were  not  gen- 
erally the  case  that  that  which  is  nearest  to  man 
(for  example,  the  air,  the  light,  the  water),  al- 
though most  important  to  his  existence,  is  often 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  163 

least  noticed  and  considered  by  him,  and  greatly 
to  his  injury.  In  the  same  way  but  few  observe 
the  instant  and  exact  time  of  the  change  of  the 
day,  of  the  year,  and  of  other  periodical  and  cyclical 
times,  and  thus  perceive  neither  the  end  of  the 
one  nor  the  beginning  of  the  other,  although  they 
are  strictly  dependent  on  hours  and  minutes,  etc. 
But  most  people  usually  first  observe  the  true  ad- 
vent of  the  new  time,  of  the  period  of  progress  and 
development,  after  it  has  long  taken  place,  is  al- 
ready long  past.  Such  is  also  actually  the  case  in 
and  with  the  present  time.  We  now  first  begin 
to  recognize  universally  the  advent  of  something 
altogether  new;  but  even  now  we  notice,  though 
still  imperfectly,  what,  alas,  presses  hardly  upon 
us,  how  each  neglect  of  development  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  Nature  draws  after  it  in  life  its 
natural,  often  painful,  results. 

The  conception  formed  from  natural  history, 
and  especially  the  astronomical  cosmic  conception 
of  life  and  of  the  history  of  the  human  race,  very 
greatly  clear  and  enlighten  life  and  the  understand- 
ing of  it,  and  we  shall  see  immediately  how  this 
also  expresses  itself  in  the  character  of  the  present 
time  and  in  its  predominantly  educational  efforts. 

But  the  whole  life  of  man  and  humanity  is  a   ^ 
life  of  education.     If  we  now  reflect  upon  this  the 
thought  forces  itself  upon  us,  what  is  it  now  by  I 
which  the  present  time  especially  proves  itself  to  be  'i 


164  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

a  time  of  education,  of  the  progressive  training  of 
the  human  race,  of  humanity? 

Here,  as  the  principal  foundation  for  the  satis- 
factory answering  of  the  important  question  before 
us,  appears,  first,  the  fact  that  only  that  has  real 
existence  for  man  which  has  passed  in  and  by  clear 
consciousness,  which,  as  it  were,  has  been  born 
anew  in  spirit,  and  indeed  (again  in  the  like  con- 
scious manner)  was  recognized  not  as  merely  iso- 
lated but  as  an  active  member  of  a  greater  whole. 

But  what  concerns  each  individual,  and  conse- 
quently, above  all,  the  individual  human  being, 
concerns  also  the  whole  human  race,  as  has  been  al- 
ready said.  For  the  human  race  also,  that  only 
actually  and  truly  exists  which  has  in  the  greatest 
possible  universality  passed  through  the  conscious- 
ness of  all,  and  by  which  the  human  race  is  not 
only  recognized  and  acknowledged  as  whole  and 
individual,  but  again  as  part  of  a  further  composite 
higher  whole. 

Second,  the  fundamental  answering  of  the 
above-stated  question  rests  also  on  the  fact  that  an 
era  is  distinguished  only  by  that  which  comes  forth 
not  only  in  a  few  individuals  but  in  an  independent 
plurality.  That  which  till  now  was  actually  edu- 
cationally lived  and  carried  out  in  life  by  individ- 
ual men,  and  also  indeed  by  individual  nations, 
which  was  likewise  felt  by  others,  earnestly  de- 
sired, and  also  by  degrees  raised  to  consciousness 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  165 

(according  to  possibility,  or  relatively)  by  individ- 
uals, is  now  to  take  a  place  in  life,  to  be  consciously 
observed  by  the  minds  and  recognized  by  the  spirits 
of  a  predominating  plurality,  as  a  spiritually  united 
whole.  Now  whatever  earlier  times  showed  in  re- 
spect to  educational  endeavors,  as  well  in  the  indi- 
vidual as  in  the  whole,  they  (the  times)  lacked 
either  the  universality  or  the  clear  consciousness  of 
the  endeavors..  But  both  in  their  association  are 
the  impressions  of  the  younger  or  present  time,  and 
mark  pre-eminently  the  entrance  of  a  new  period  of 
the  development  of  humanity  and  of  the  educa- 
tional character  of  this  period.  But  this  is  ex- 
pressed especially  and  unanswerably  in  its  indi- 
vidual requirements;  these  are  as  follows: 

First,  that  the  individual  be  pressed  back  into 
himself  and  led  back  to  himself,  whether  this  indi- 
vidual be  an  individual  man,  an  individual  people, 
or  the  whole  human  race. 

Second y  that  therefore  the  human,  instinctive, 
educating  action  determined  by  the  higher  tenden-[ 
cies  of  life  be  raised  to  clear  consciousness,  above  all 
in  the  mother  and  the  whole  feminine  sex. 

Third,  that  the  whole  feminine  sex  be  rec- 
ognized by  mind  and  spirit  and  actually  acknowl- 
edged in  life  as  a  whole  in  its  destination  and  dig- 
nity, as  not  only  a  real  part  and  half  of  the  human 
race,  but  also  as  being  as  essential  to  it  as  the  mas- 
culine. 

13 


/ 


166  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

Fourth,  that  even  tlie  child  and  the  life  of 
childhood  be  recognized,  acknowledged,  and  actu- 
ally considered  and  treated  in  life  relatively  as  a 
whole  in  its  worth  and  dignity, 
r  Fifth,  the  acknowledgment  of  the  life  of  the 
family  as  a  part  of  the  life  of  the  community,  the 
reiteration  and  acknowledgment  of  the  constant  re- 
ciprocal relation  between  the  two. 

Sixth,  it  requires  a  clear  and  active  co-ordina- 
tion and  co-operation  of  the  social  and  political  re- 
lation.   As  here  of  the  more  outward,  so. 

Seventh,  of  the  more  inward  relations  between 
school  and  home  and  of  both  to  the  church. 

Eighth,  clear  demonstration  of  the  relation  of 
force,  of  mass  (material),  and  of  form  to  the  idea, 
to  thought;  in  general,  to  power. 

Ninth,  the  endeavor  for  all-sided  union  of  life 
with  Nature,  with  humanity,  and  with  God,  and 
this  is  pre-eminently  the  undeniable  proof  of  the 
real  and  prevailingly  educational  character  of  the 
present  time.  But  on  account  of  the  great  impor- 
tance of  the  requirement  of  the  time  already 
brought  out  in  this  single  enumeration,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  devote  a  special  attention  and  consideration 
to  it. 

The  first  demand  which  thus  characterizes  the 
time  in  its  educational  efforts  is  that  the  human  be- 
ing be  pressed  back  upon  himself  and  led  back  to 
himself.     This  requirement  appertains  as  well  to 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  167 

the  individual  as  to  whole  nations,  and,  it  may  be 
said,  to  the  whole  human  race.  Thus  the  pressure 
toward  comprehension  and  consciousness  of  one's 
self  (but  also  toward  self-creation  and  personal  ac- 
tion), which  has  long  been  felt,  has  given  rise  to 
the  number  of  self-taught  people  (Autodidaden) 
and  to  the  importance  generally  attached  to  knowl- 
edge acquired  through  personal  action  and  personal 
experience,  whether  that  action  and  that  experi- 
ence be  outward  or  inward.  But  now  this  is  quite 
evidently  the  effort  of  the  human  being,  whether 
it  be  that  of  the  individual,  of  the  community,  or 
of  the  whole  human  race  to  raise  to  consciousness, 
to  insight,  inspection,  and  oversight,  the  tendency 
to  the  activity  and  employment  of  life  (the  natural 
instinct).  This  is  the  effort  for  the  acknowledg-  , 
ment  of  the  human  being  in  the  triplicity  of  his  \ 
nature  as  thinking,  feeling,  and  acting  in  his  united 
power  of  spirit,  mind,  and  action. 

But  since  now  this  must  be  done  even  according 
to  the  first  and  earliest  fostering  of  the  human  be- 
ing, thus  even  with  the  child  and  in  childhood,  and 
since  this  fostering  is  especially  given  by  the  Crea- 
tor to  the  mother  and  in  general  to  the  feminine 
sex,  and  so  to  the  family,  the  second  demand  which 
characterizes  the  present  time  as  an  educational  one 
is  that  the  treatment  by  the  mother,  determined 
by  the  high  instinct  of  ISTature  and  life,  as  well 
as  the  whole  feminine  influence,  be  lifted  out  of  the 


168  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

instinctive  as  an  influence  which  educates  human- 
ity, and  this  influence  be  raised  to  consciousness 
and  thus  to  right  recognition,  to  true  acknowledg- 
ment. But  the  mother  herself  must,  first  of  all, 
be  raised  to  the  recognition  of  her  dignity  and  the 
importance  of  her  striving. 

But  the  third  demand  which  characterizes  the 
time  as  a  genuine  educational  one  is  the  effort  to 
raise  the  feminine  sex  as  a  whole  to  recognition  and 
acknowledgment  of  its  destination  and  dignity  and 
to  living  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of 
this  destination  and  dignity,  and  especially  to  uplift 
its  instinctive  passive  activity  (as  a  part  of  human- 
ity) and  to  rise  to  the  same  authority  as  the  mas- 
culine sex  on  account  of  its  nature  and  its  voca- 
tion of  fostering  humanity,  and  so  to  consider  the 
woman  from  her  nature  and  spirit  as  purely  and 
completely  of  equal  birth  with  man. 

But  the  fourth  demand  which  no  less  proves 
the  present  time  as  an  educating  one  is  the  effort 
to  acknowledge  the  dignity  of  the  child,  of  child- 
hood, and  of  the  life  of  childhood;  not  as  single 
and  isolated,  but  as  a  whole,  complete  within  itself, 
as  the  germ  and  embryo  of  the  development  and 
representation  of  a  life  of  humanity  according  to 
the  words  of  Jesus,  "  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,"  and  so,  I  might  say,  to  fulfill  the  funda- 
mental demand  of  Jesus  to  his  followers. 

The  fifth  demand  by  which  the  present  time  is 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  169 

proved  to  be  a  genuinely  educational  one  is  the  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  family  life  (of  the  life  of 
father,  mother,  and  children,  brothers  and  sisters) 
as  a  whole  complete  in  itself  and  as  the  true  root  of 
genuine,  pure,  true  human  life.  This  acknowledg- 
ment is  especially  important  for  the  family  as  a 
member  (a  branch  of  the  race  and  stock)  of  the 
life  of  the  community. 

The  sixth  demand  by  which  our  time  is  espe- 
cially characterized  as  an  educational  one  is  the  re- 
establishment  and  acknowledgment  of  the  recip- 
rocal relation  between  the  life  of  the  family  and 
that  of  the  community,  and  of  the  fostering  of  that 
relation.  Here  it  is  again  the  relation  of  the  indi- 
vidual to  the  common  and  united,  of  the  especial 
to  the  general,  which  appears.  If  we  weigh  the  im- 
portance of  these  single  points  against  one  another 
it  is  very  difficult  to  distinguish  which  among  them 
is  of  the  most  absolute  importance,  but,  in  reference 
directly  to  the  present  time,  the  one  just  named 
appears  to  be  pre-eminent.  It  leads  to  the  public 
spirit  so  necessary  to  us,  lights  up  the  relation  of 
the  one  to  the  many,  or,  in  other  words,  to  the 
community,  and  leads  thus  to  the  regulation  and 
arrangement  of  the  social  relations  of  the  citizen, 
as  well  as  of  society  at  large.  Hence  the  endeavor 
of  the  present  time  (by  which  it  is  characterized  as 
educational)  to  regulate  the  relations  of  the  com- 
munity, of  the  city  and  of  the  state,  as  well  as  of 


170  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

society  at  large.  For  we  know  that  the  state  in  the 
totality  of  that  which  it  gives  or  demands  and  takes 
is  in  a  great  measure  actually  an  educational  in- 
stitution, whether  good  or  bad  we  may  not  here  in- 
quire.    Therefore, 

Seventh,  the  present  time  is  characterized  as 
educational  by  the  endeavor  to  fix  the  relation  be- 
tween home  and  school,  and  the  relation  of  both  to 
the  church;  or,  properly,  the  relation  between  sen- 
sation, mind,  thought,  spirit,  and  active  life;  or 
really  the  question  is  of  the  relation  between  the 
inward  feeling  and  recognition,  and  of  the  relation 
of  both  again  to  the  outward  action  and  to  that 
which  is  outwardly  created  or  effected.  Thus  the 
question  is  briefly  of  the  clear  relation  of  the  inner 
to  the  outer,  of  thought  to  deed,  of  the  idea  to  the 
reality,  and  on  account  of  this  effort. 

Eighth,  the  present  time  is  characterized  as 
an  educational  one,  just  because  thus  the  form  as 
well  as  the  mass,  the  material  (the  money),  has 
lost  its  power,  and,  on  the  contrary,  the  real 
thought,  the  fine  idea,  the  pure  and  good  sentiment, 
in  general,  the  spirit  has  risen  to  power;  or  also 
through  the  fact  that  the  dead,  quiescent,  inher- 
ited possession  is  no  longer  a  power,  but  the  con- 
stant, spiritual,  advancing  cultivation  which  makes 
itself  known  in  act  and  representation;  so  that  in 
this  creative  action,  in  this  work,  it  is  the  spirit  and 
idea  which  animate  it  and  give  to  the  material  the 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  171 

true  value,  often  a  hundredfold  and  more,  as  was 
long  ago  shown  by  Art.  Or  one  may  also  say,  the 
thought  and  idea  attest  themselves  also  externally 
as  abiding,  and  yet  again,  as  that  which  constantly 
renews  and  develops  and  rejuvenates  itself  from 
itself.  They  are  thus  become,  as  it  were,  genuine 
states;  they  now  afford  to  life  and  to  man  what 
they  require  as  such,  and  what  it  is  the  task  and 
duty  of  the  state  to  give;  what  man,  in  accord- 
ance with  his  nature,  must  strive  to  obtain.  And 
onward  development  and  onward  cultivation  of  the 
individual  by  itself  and  as  a  member  of  the  whole 
as  such,  with  backward  reference  to  the  individual 
and  to  its  needs  for  the  pure  living  expression  of 
humanity,  is  gained  by  endeavor;  this  is  obtained 
when  man  is  early  treated  as  a  creative  being,  as  a 
creation  of  God. 

From  this,  as  the  keystone  and  summing  up  of 
the  whole,  now  follows  that  which  points  out  the 
time  as  prevailingly  educational.     Thus, 

Ninth,  the  general  striving  for  union  with 
life,  Nature,  and  humanity,  and  consequently  with 
God,  which  makes  itself  known  in  the  most  differ- 
ent religious  and  ecclesiastical  efforts  of  the  time. 
But  at  the  foundation  of  them  all  lies  the  presenti- 
ment of  the  unity,  the  single  foundation,  the  single 
fount  of  all  existence,  essence,  and  life.  At  the 
foundation  of  all  is  also  the  anticipation  that  man's 
vocation  and  destination  lie  only  in  undisturbed 


1Y2  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

union  with  this  unity,  and  thus  in  the  purpose 
of  real  union  with  God,  which  gradually  approaches 
its  attainment.  That  is,  they  lie  in  a  life  in  har- 
mony with  the  laws  of  existence,  development,  and 
life  (laws  of  life  in  appearance)  which  make  them- 
selves known  in  all  beings  as  having  their  original 
cause  in  God  and  proceeding  from  God.  Thus 
only  in  that  consciousness  of  true  union  with  God 
which  attests  itself  immediately  in  action  does 
man's  vocation  consist.  This  living  expression  of 
his  nature,  by  his  own  choice  and  his  own  deter- 
mination, consequently  in  freedom,  effects  the 
genuine  peace  and  pure  joy  of  the  life  of  man,  and 
is  the  total  endeavor  of  the  time  as  truly  educa- 
tional. 

These  are  the  most  essential  strivings  which  ex- 
press themselves,  not  only  clearly,  but  even  audi- 
bly, in  the  events  of  the  present  time,  and  the 
most  essential  requirements  of  the  new  peroid  of 
life,  requirements  which  appear  to  us  as  un- 
avoidable. 

Yet  it  is  by  no  means  merely  characterized  as 
a  predominantly  educating  time  by  the  fact  that 
these  efforts  are  present,  partly  single  or  even  part- 
ly connected,  for  they  were  present,  isolated,  or 
partly  connected  at  different  times,  indeed  at  all 
times.  No,  the  grandness,  the  high  significance  of 
the  present  time  lies  in  the  fact  that  all  these  efforts 
are  present  at  the  same  time,  and,  it  may  be  said, 


EDUCATIONAL   PRINCIPLES.  173 

almost  all  in  equal  power  and  strength;  which  has 
not  been  the  case  in  any  other  time  in  history. 
Then  what  is  yet  more  important,  and  what  points 
out  this  time  in  comparison  with  the  former  as  ex- 
clusively educational,  is,  that  none  of  these  require- 
ments can  be  satisfied  alone,  but  that  they  must 
necessarily  be  all  fulfilled  at  the  same  time, 
even  though  only  one  of  them  is  to  be  completely 
fulfilled.  And  the  present  time  makes  this  re- 
quirement for  the  education  of  the  individual,  and 
indeed  for  the  education  of  the  family  and  commu- 
nity, for  the  education  of  the  people  and  of  human- 
ity, for  the  education  of  society  up  to  the  genuine 
State,  that  is,  to  the  State  constantly  self -renewing. 

But  how  is  this  apparently  difficult  requirement 
to  be  met  ?  How  is  this  important  problem  of  life  to 
be  solved  ?  Simply  thus,  that  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  gardener  or  farmer  educates  his  plants  to  per- 
fection in  all-sided  coherence  with  Nature  and  con- 
formably with  all  requirements,  we  strive  to  ob- 
serve, to  develop,  to  educate,  and  to  form  the  child, 
the  human  being,  conformably  to  his  nature,  to 
his  inner  laws,  and  in  untrotibled  union  with  life 
and  ISTature,  in  constant  union  with  the  origin  of 
all  life. 

This  manner  of  comprehending  and  treating 
the  child  and  human  being  in  the  all-sided  cohe- 
rence of  life  proceeds  (as  being  constantly  the  same 
result)  from  self -observation,  from  the  observation 


174  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

of  the  nature  of  the  human  being  and  child,  in 
general  from  the  observation  of  all  development  and 
formation  wherever  it  may  show  itself,  and  it  thus 
expresses  itself  as  the  first  and  uppermost  maxim, 
as  the  principal  requirement  of  human  education. 

From  this  all-sided  observation  of  life  for  neces- 
sary application  to  the  education  of  the  child,  and 
thus  in  essential  reference  to  the  solution  of  the 
problem  in  question,  we  are  met  by  the  following 
highly  important  facts,  viz. :  that  that  which  lies  in 
a  whole  lies  also  in  the  smallest  part  of  it ;  thus,  that 
which  lies  in  humanity  as  a  whole  also  expresses 
itself  even  in  the  smallest  and  youngest  of  its  chil- 
dren. And  further,  that  thus,  that  which  lies  in 
humanity  as  a  whole  and  expresses  itself  even  in 
the  child,  slumbers  in  the  child  as  essence  and 
germ,  makes  itself  known  again  in  the  smallest  de- 
tails of  his  nature:  indeed,  definitely  shows  itself 
therein  to  a  clear,  spiritual  eye.  This  is  the  second 
maxim  on  which  the  method  of  genuine  education 
of  the  human  being  and  child  is  founded  and 
through  which  consequently  the  problem  in  ques- 
tion farther  receives  its  solution. 

From  this  comprehension  of  the  human  being 
and  of  the  children,  from  this  comprehension  of  the 
individual  life  as  well  as  of  the  life  of  others  and 
of  objects  in  general,  proceeds  farther  the  third 
essential  principle  of  education,  viz.:  that  as  the 
inner  development,  the  development  from  within, 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  175 

is  joined  to  an  impulse  working  out  from  within, 
so  the  outward  form  also  depends  on  an  attrac- 
tion aflfecting  it  from  without;  and  these  two 
limitations,  opposite  to,  yet  like  one  another 
(for  all  life  has  indeed  a  single,  thus  the  same, 
origin),  give  the  single  life  uniting  both  in  itself 
as  a  result  (product) — the  educated,  cultivated 
human  being. 

We  must  therefore  necessarily  recognize  a 
fourth  law  of  development,  education,  and  cultiva- 
tion, viz.:  that  the  child  is  truly  formed  to  a  man 
only  by  the  co-working  of  limitations  (factors)  op- 
posite to,  yet  like  one  another,  and  by  the  com- 
parison and  connection  of  these  factors  in  and 
through  life. 

Conformably  to  all  this,  the  first  effort,  as  well 
as  the  first  duty  in  the  present  time,  must  necessa- 
rily be  for  each  one  who  acknowledges  these  demon- 
strated principles  of  education  and  cultivation  to 
be  true,  to  begin  to  apply  and  carry  them  out,  first 
of  all  with  himself,  then  with  those  committed  to 
his  care,  but  especially  to  begin  to  labor  to  introduce^ 
all  educators,  especially  those  of  the  feminine  sex  J 
(first  of  wives  and  mothers,  but  also  their  perhaps 
already  grown-up  daughters,  and  educational  help- 
ers), into  these  principles.     That  is  easy,  because    \ 
one  needs  only  to  clear,  to  strengthen  their  sure, 
natural  instinct,  then  to  raise  this  instinct  to  con-.> 
sciousness,  and  so  to  firm,  logical,  continual  accom- 


176  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

plishment,  and  to  provide  the  necessary  means  for 
rightly  following  that  which  is  understood. 

But  it  would  again  be  one-sided,  if  education  for 
the  training  of  the  human  being  should  be  confined 
to  the  feminine  sex,  for  the  reason  that  women,  who 
are  faithful  to  nature,  are  the  first  trainers  and  edu- 
cators of  the  human  being.  No!  the  more  out- 
wardly instructing  masculine  sex,  according  to  the 
necessary  law  of  opposites  above  mentioned,  has  no 
less  a  part  in  this  training,  as  the  future  teacher, 
protector,  trainer,  as  the  future  father  of  the  fam- 
ily, of  the  community,  and  of  the  nation.  This  co- 
operation in  the  training  of  the  human  being  must 
begin  not  only  in  the  years  of  boyhood  and  youth, 
but  even  in  those  of  childhood;  so  that  the  child 
may  be  early  led  on  all  sides  toward  his  destination, 
in  order  that  in  the  fulfillment  of  his  destination  he 
may  protect  and  uphold  the  other,  the  softer,  more 
delicate  sex. 

Therefore,  in  conformity  with  this  whole  sys- 
tem, humanity  must  be  observed  from  the  begin- 
ning of  its  dual  existence  as  composed  of  two  oppo- 
site sexes  which  are,  in  all  other  respects,  alike. 
And  so  in  its  whole  nature,  its  senses  and  limbs,  its 
body  and  its  soul,  its  feeling  and  being,  its  under- 
standing and  intellect,  its  comprehension  and  rea- 
son, and  its  all-exhausting  nature,  the  child  must 
be  treated  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  this  sys- 
tem, consequently  as  a  being  rising  from  sensation 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  177 

to  consciousness,  to  intelligent  willing  and  doing,  as 
a  being  one  in  itself,  therefore  sentient,  reflective, 
moral,  chaste,  and  having  a  high  vocation. 

Since,  now,  the  germinating  point  and  the 
source  of  all  genuine  development,  of  cultivation, 
and  education  is  in  the  feeling  and  the  sensation,  as 
well  as  in  the  anticipation  (therefore  in  the  mind), 
this  must  necessarily  early  find  its  suitable  nourish- 
ment, even  with  the  first  development  of  the  child's 
body,  limbs,  senses,  and  spirit.  This  is  done  by  in-  \ 
troducing  the  child  at  once  into  the  realm  of  har-  ■ 
mony  and  accord,  into  the  province  of  rhythm, 
melody,  and  dynamics,  and  thus  into  the  realm  of 
tone  and  song,  for  which  the  child  early  shows  de- 
cided inclination. 

We  perceive  how  the  nurses  quiet  the  young 
child  by  the  employment  of  rhythmical  movements 
(of  the  so-called  dancing,  rocking,  knocking,  etc.), 
and  the  child  actually  feels  itself  pacified  by  these 
means.  It  appears  even  to  agree  with  the  pulse- 
beat,  consequently  with  the  heart,  and,  as  is  gener- 
ally thought,  with  the  seat  of  sensation.  Thus  we 
early  see  the  healthy  infant  which  has  been  satis- 
fied in  all  its  needs  lull  itself  to  sleep  with  singing 
when  the  mother  has  laid  it  in  its  little  bed.  Con- 
formably to  this  expression  of  the  child,  and  taking 
it  up  fosteringly,  we  hear  not  only  how  the  nurses 
induce  their  charges  to  sleep  by  song,  but  also  how 
they,  whenever  necessary,  at  other  times  quiet  them 


178  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

with  it.  The  somewhat  later  phenomena  in  child- 
life  also  prove  that  rhythm  and  song  are  intimately 
connected  with  the  child's  expressions  of  life. 

Rhythmical,  measured  movements  and  harmo- 
;  nious  song  thus  necessarily  and  early  belong  to  an 
education  of  the  human  being,  which,  meeting  the 
demand  of  his  nature  on  all  sides,  is  consequently 
a  healthy  one.  So  we  must  clearly  recognize  that 
the  educational  requirements  of  the  time,  earnestly 
presented  in  the  foregoing  remark,  can  be  com- 
pletely obtained  only  by  the  appropriate  co-opera- 
tion of  song,  even  with  the  early  education  of  the 
child,  since  it  strengthens  that  which  is  noble  in  the 
youngest  child,  and  makes  himself  more  receptive 
of  the  noble.  Hence  the  first  plays  of  the  body, 
limbs,  and  senses,  the  little  plays  of  the  Mother- 
Play  and  Nursery  Songs  practically  produced  for 
the  earliest  period  of  childhood  and  infancy,  are 
mostly  accompanied  by  song;  by  which  at  the  same 
time  the  word,  leading  to  comparing  thought,  is 
introduced  (as  most  essential  to  human  education, 
to  the  education  of  the  human  child)  into  the  first 
strengthening  and  developing  nurture  of  children, 
which  is  so  important.  This  introduction  of 
the  word  by  song,  which  took  place  at  first  instinc- 
tively by  motherly  caressing,  now  takes  place  espe- 
cially by  the  singing-tone,  which  exerts  so  much 
influence.  y 

But  with  such  development  of  senses,  limbs,  and 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  179 

body,  as  well  as  soul,  a  development  begun  on  all 
sides,  penetrating  mind  and  feeling,  and  conse- 
quently fostered  (though  only  in  the  germ),  the 
child  now  also  needs  an  object  by  which  he  can 
develop  himself  yet  farther  and  more  completely, 
independently,  and  spontaneously.  For  we  early 
see  how,  in  order  to  use,  strengthen,  and  exercise 
the  power  of  his  hands  and  fingers,  he  tries  to 
grasp  objects — his  own  cheeks,  etc.;  how  he 
squeezes  his  own  thumbs,  holds  fast  the  moth- 
er's finger  which  he  has  seized,  etc. 

The  nature  of  the  human  being  requires  (as  is 
early  shown  to  us  in  the  child)  a  corresponding 
counterpart  for  the  animate  being,  for  his  inner  na- 
ture, and  for  the  requirements  of  that  nature;  that 
is,  an  antitype,  opposite  to  yet  like  him.  This  re- 
quirement is  one  with  the  human  being,  insepara- 
bly connected  with  his  earthly  appearance  and  exist- 
ence, and  therefore  repeatedly  comes  forth  with  the 
observation  of  his  first  appearance  everywhere,  in 
all  zones,  and  in  the  most  different  relations. 

If  this  requirement  of  the  human  being  in  gen- 
eral is  not  fulfilled  for  the  child  by  a  suitable  ob- 
ject coming  to  him  from  without,  he  seeks  to  satisfy 
this  requirement  of  his  nature  by  means  of  his 
power  of  imagination  (fancy).  But  the  images  of 
fancy  lead  the  human  being  and  even  the  child 
very  easily  into  the  boundless  and  formless,  as  they 
at  the  same  time  more  weaken  than  strengthen  the 


180  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

human  being,  and  this  even  in  his  early  develop- 
ment, at  least  for  outward  representation.  They 
lead  more  to  one-sidedness  than  to  that  all-sidedness 
of  his  cultivation,  toward  which  the  human  being 
even  in  childhood  is  to  strive  according  to  his  na- 
ture. An  object  must  therefore  be  given  to  the 
child,  not  merely  for  his  outward  bodily  activity, 
but  rather  for  his  inward  activity,  the  activity  of 
his  soul,  and  for  the  development  and  cultivation 
of  this  activity.  It  is  by  no  means  unimportant,  it 
is,  on  the  contrary,  a  thing  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance, what  kind  of  an  object  is  here  provided  for 
the  child  as  a  true  counterpart  of  himself.  We  see 
also  by  what  has  just  been  said  that  it  must  neither 
be  left  to  accident  nor  to  the  arbitrary  will  of  any 
one  what  object  is  chosen  for  this  purpose,  but  that 
this  is  already  definitely  given  with  the  appearance 
of  the  human  being  as  a  child.  According  to  the 
requirement  it  is  to  be  an  object  like  the  child,  but 
at  the  same  time  his  pure  opposite.  Let  us  now  ob- 
serve and  question  the  child  himself,  and  see  what 
object  he  chooses  in  his  earliest  period  of  develop- 
ment for  such  a  counterpart  of  himself  and  of  his 
efforts.  It  is  the  simplest  inanimate  object  but  also 
(a  highly  remarkable  fact)  the  heaviest.  He  prefers 
wood  and  stones.  The  boys  like  to  carry  what  is 
large  and  heavy,  and  seek  it  out  as  a  plaything 
first  of  all.  Little  girls  also  make  their  favorite 
dolls  of  the  heavy,  large  bootjack  or  a  like  piece  of 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  181 

wood.  I  was  informed  by  a  mother  from  the 
higher  family  circles  of  the  city,  who  was  an  early 
observer  of  life,  that  a  heavy  sandbag  she  acci- 
dentally found  became  to  her  the  most  cherished 
doll,  when  she  was  a  little  girl,  because  it  had  in 
it  the  weight  of  the  actual  child,  and  so  she  ex- 
perienced an  illusion  and  gave  herself  up  to  it;  she 
imagined  herself  to  be  carrying  a  real  child. 

But  weight,  attraction,  is  the  first  expression  of 
the  power,  as  it  were,  the  life  in  Nature  which  ex- 
presses itself  in  its  higher  degree  as  the  attraction 
of  the  senses;  and,  in  its  purest  development,  as  a 
spiritual  attraction,  as  love. 

In  this  course  of  development  of  the  human  be- 
ing here  pointed  out  as  it  makes  itself  known  in 
each  child  is  at  once  clearly  expressed  how  the 
child  is  to  be  treated,  what  object  (when?  where? 
and  how?  why?  or  wherefore?)  is  to  be  provided  for 
the  child  in  the  beginning  of  his  own  activity. 

As  a  being  complete  in  himself,  bearing  life  in 
himself,  developing  and  appropriating  life  to  him- 
self, and  the  opposite  of  life  in  his  own  adjusting 
nature,  the  child  seeks  also  as  a  counterpart  of  him- 
self an  object  which  is  opposite  to,  yet  like  himself. 
It  must  therefore,  firstly,  as  a  similar  object,  be 
such  a  one  as  will  enable  the  child,  for  the  free  un- 
folding of  his  self-determined  nature,  to  make  from 
it  everything  which  he  wishes:  that  is,  to  conceive 

and  think  of  everything  in  it. 
14 


182  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

Therefore,  as  purely  opposite  to  the  child,  it 
must  be,  secondly,  an  object,  a  means  for  something 
else,  while  the  child  is  himself  only  a  pure  end  and 
aim  for  himself. 

This  statement  clearly  gives  the  character  of  the 
first  plaything  of  the  child.  In  this  is  clearly,  an- 
ticipatingly  expressed  the  deep  sense  with  which  the 
child  chooses  a  stick,  a  stone,  a  board,  a  piece  of 
wood,  a  bootjack,  sandbag,  or  even  the  loam, 
the  heaps  of  earth  and  sand,  the  clay  and  earth 
hills  in  which  he  can  dig  with  zeal.  Yet,  after 
all,  for  his  freest  development,  he  likes  best  the 
ball.  Just  the  ball  is  demonstrably  the  middle 
point  and  point  of  union,  I  may  say  the  repre- 
sentative of  all  for  which  the  child  strives  as  a 
counterpart  for  his  self-development  and  culti- 
vation. It  shows  completeness  in  itself,  and  is 
yet  the  general  representative  of  all  things — of  rest 
and  movement,  of  totality  and  unity,  of  that  which 
is  all-sided  and  that  which  has  but  one  surface. 
It  unites  in  itself  the  visible  and  the  invisible  (its 
middle,  its  axis,  etc.)..  By  the  ball,  the  child  can 
now  accomplish  and  represent  unnumbered  things 
which  exist  within  him  as  desire,  idea,  and  thought. 
And,  with  the  ball,  the  child  can  imitate  innu- 
merable things  which  he  sees  around  him.  The 
ball  is  thus  a  means  of  representation  for  the  inner 
world  as  well  as  a  means  of  introduction  into  the 
outer  world  which  surrounds  him. 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  183 

By  this  is  solved  the  question,  ''  Why  is  the  ball 
as  a  plaything  so  dear  to  the  child?''  The  play 
appears  (corresponding  to  the  sense  of  the  word 
Spiel)  to  the  human  being,  and  especially  to  the 
child,  as  a  mirror  (Spiegel)  of  his  inner  and  of  his 
surrounding  world,  and  is,  especially  at  the  stage 
of  childhood,  a  mirror  required  from  inward,  there- 
fore free,  impulse  by  the  child's  attraction  to  life 
and  employment.  The  plaything  (Spielzeug)  is 
thus  (as  a  means  and  aim)  opposite  to,  yet  like,  the 
child's  nature;  and  for  this  reason  it  is  the  object 
which  awakens  and  engenders  (erzeugen)  the  desire 
for  play,  the  act  of  playing  (Spielen),  and  the  con- 
tents of  the  play. 

Play  is  thus  actually  engendered  by  the  con- 
nection of  opposites  which  are  also  alike,  by  the 
combination  of  the  free  activity  of  the  child  with 
the  dependent  movability  of  an  object  and  its  conse- 
quent power  of  taking  form. 

The  ball  is  thus  actually  a  gift  which,  in  com- 
bination with  the  child's  impulse  to  activity,  by  its 
many  kinds  of  movability  and  its  manifold  em- 
ployment, engenders  the  desire  for  play,  for  free 
reflection  of  the  inner  as  well  as  the  outer  world, 
and  is  therefore  a  favorite  gift. 

If  we  now  combine  this  statement  with  what 
has  been  before  said,-  it  is  easy  to  explain  why  the 
ball  is  the  child's  first  and  dearest  plaything,  and 
why  it  remains  so  in  the  German  ball  plays  through 


184  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  whole  age  of  boyhood  and  up  to  and  into  the 
age  of  youth;  why  it,  as  the  best-loved  plaything, 
pre-eminently  captivates  the  youth  who  is  early 
striving  for  all-sided  cultivation. 

That  which  especially  concerns  the  play  with 
the  ball  as  the  earliest  and  first  means  of  develop- 
ment of  the  child  can  be  done  by  the  ball  by  itself 
and  for  itself  in  its  simple  form  and  in  its  simplest 
relation. 

It  can  be  used  either  free,  or  fastened  to  a  string, 
and  in  both  cases  either  in  free  space  or  (in  refer- 
ence to  surfaces)  perpendicularly,  horizontally,  or 
obliquely.  When  thus  used  the  ball  appears  as  a 
guide  in  the  outer  world  by  representing  the  objects 
of  that  world,  as,  for  example,  a  kitten,  etc.,  or  as 
a  cultivator  of  the  child's  own  body  and  limbs; 
one  may  say,  as  an  instructing  gymnast. 

The  ball  has  been  hitherto  taken  up  merely  in 
its  form,  and,  in  this,  merely  in  its  relation  to  the 
child  and  to  the  outer  world.  But  it  can  also  be 
considered  and  used  as  a  plaything  for  the  child 
in  its  relations  to  itself;  firstly,  in  relation  to  its 
size;  secondly,  in  relation  to  its  clothing,  its  cover- 
ing, or  its  color;  thirdly,  in  relation  to  number; 
fourthly,  in  respect  to  its  material;  fifthly  and 
finally,  in  its  different  relations  of  hardness  or  elas- 
ticity; and,  in  connection  with  both  of  these,  by  its 
falling  on  a  corresponding  surface  in  relation  to 
tone. 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  185 

In  all  these  respects  the  ball  enters  into  ever 
new  relations  to  the  child,  and  the  exhaustive  treat- 
ment of  it  here  shows  it  as  a  constant,  all-sided, 
uninterrupted  means  of  education  and  cultivation 
as  well  as  of  the  actual  development  of  the  child. 

A  slight  indication  in  regard  to  color  must  here 
suffice.  The  child,  instinctively,  and  in  accordance 
with  his  nature,  soon  seeks  that  which  is  the  sim- 
plest opposite  of  the  single,  yet  like  it,  viz.,  plural- 
ity. The  fosterer  of  early  childhood  must,  like  a 
gardener,  bring  to  the  point  of  unfolding  this  un- 
conscious effort  of  the  child  (his  instinctive  long- 
ing for  plurality)  and  must  also  develop  it  to  con- 
sciousness, that  it  may  not  become  merely  a  greedy 
desire  for  possession  and  a  strong  longing  for 
owning. 

But  mere  plurality  of  a  like  kind,  as  such,  does 
not  and,  according  to  his  nature,  should  not  satisfy 
the  child,  for  he  seeks  in  plurality  the  connecting 
unity  or  to  have  the  manif oldness  of  the  connecting 
bond  made  perceptible  to  him.  This  is  most  satis- 
factorily done  by  the  colors  of  the  balls,  which  are 
of  like  form,  size,  and  material.  The  color  should 
be  the  purest  possible;  six  rainbow  colors  (seven  by 
using  a  dark  as  well  as  a  light  blue),  blue,  green,  yel- 
low, orange,  red  and  violet — the  six  (or  seven  [with 
indigo])  children  of  the  light  (in  a  prismatic  spec- 
trum) which  is  in  itself  single — which,  as  a  wonder- 
fully beautiful  unity  complete  in  itself,  show  in  the 


186  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

rainbow  the  symbol  of  the  highest  peace,  of  peace 
between  heaven  and  earth,  between  God  and  man. 
And  why  should  not  the  path  to  such  peace  be  early 
entered  upon  in  a  childlike  way  for  the  human  be- 
ing and  for  the  child?  Therefore,  are  brought  be- 
fore the  child  as  a  plaything,  by  degrees,  six  balls  in 
the  six  designated  colors,  now  singly,  now  in  various 
connections.  These  balls,  even  singly,  are  received 
each  time  with  pleasure  by  the  child.  Then  they 
are  given  together  in  pairs  as  complementary  col- 
ors: red  and  green,  blue  and  orange,  etc.;  or  com- 
bined in  threes,  for  example,  as  the  three  principal 
colors,  red,  blue,  and  yellow ;  and  as  the  three  inter- 
mediate or  mixed  colors,  violet,  green,  and  orange. 
Therefore,  here  the  combination  of  a  different  num- 
ber with  the  conception  of  some  particular  shape  can 
be  early  brought  to  the  child  by  the  simple  and  thus 
natural  grouping  (as  it  were,  self -resultant)  of  two, 
three,  four,  or  more  balls  in  a  closely  connected 
whole.  With  the  increasing  age  of  the  child  in- 
creases also  the  size  and  hardness,  and  thus  the  elas- 
ticity, of  the  ball,  as  well  as  its  capacity  to  call  forth 
a  sound  by  dropping  it  on  a  firm  horizontal  surface. 
We  have  already  tarried  a  long  time  with  the  ball 
in  order  to  show  it  to  be  necessarily  the  first  play- 
thing of  the  child.  Yet  that  which  is  here  stated 
about  it,  and,  as  it  were,  in  its  favor,  is  quite  insig- 
nificant in  respect  to  its  being  carried  out  in  detail 
when  compared  with  the  genuinely  educating  and 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  187 

forming  effect  of  what  can  be  actually  done  by  the 
ball,  and,  with  it,  by  the  child  at  each  attained  stage 
of  development. 

What  has  been  here  brought  forward  about  the 
ball  may  perhaps  seem  too  much,  though  it  is  but 
little  in  comparison  with  what  the  ball,  as  the  first 
plaything  of  the  child,  contributes  toward  the  little 
one's  true  and  constantly  developing  cultivation. 
But  we  have  intentionally  lingered  so  long  over 
this  demonstration  of  the  all-sided  necessity,  the  in- 
dispensableness  of  choosing  the  ball  as  the  child's 
first  plaything  corresponding  to  all.  We  have  lin- 
gered intentionally  over  this  confirmation  of  the 
fact  that  the  ball  is  actually  the  true,  first  play- 
thing of  the  child,  because  just  this  fact  was  so 
much  disputed,  at  least  the  effort  to  again  introduce 
the  ball  in  its  old  right  as  the  first  plaything  of  the 
child  was  considered  one-sided  and  strange. 

And  yet  for  the  genuine  educator,  the  ball  is 
just  as  necessarily  given  as  the  first  plaything  for 
the  child,  as  the  spherical  form  of  the  earth  is  for 
the  first  step  of  the  geographer;  although  educators 
of  children  have  given  every  other  object — but  no 
ball — for  a  plaything,  and  although  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  knowledge  of  the  earth  many  things 
were  dreamed  about  the  form  of  its  upper  surface, 
this  being  considered,  now  as  a  disk  swimming  on  an 
endless  surface  of  water,  now  as  a  disk  supported  by 
columns,  etc.     Indeed  the  ball  is  just  as  absolutely 


188  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

given  as  the  first  plaything  for  the  human  satis- 
factorily developing  child  to  those  who  truly  know 
the  human  being,  as  the  spherical  form  of  the  world 
is  to  the  satisfactory  insight  into  the  system  of  the 
world  to  those  who  are  learned  in  regard  to  the 
universe;  although  the  heavenly  bodies  have  been 
in  the  beginning  by  no  means  correctly  considered 
merely  as  lights,  etc. 

The  fact  that  the  ball  belongs  to  the  first  stage 
of  the  child's  development  is  also  proved  in  many 
parts  of  Germany  by  the  natural  disposition  of  the 
country  women  to  return  from  the  market  with  a 
half -penny  ball  as  a  gift  and  joy  for  the  little  ones, 
though  it  be  filled  only  with  sawdust  or  cow's 
hairs.  Another  proof  is  the  fact  already  mentioned 
that  in  many  of  the  countries  of  Germany  the  play 
with  the  ball  in  manifold  ways  and  with  various 
alterations  appears  to  be  the  favorite  amusement 
of  the  smallest  children,  as  well  as  of  the  growing- 
up  boys  and  girls,  even  up  to  the  age  of  youth. 
A  Persian  legend  even  indicates  the  ball  as  the 
privileged  play  of  the  king's  children. 

But  the  ball  is  highly  important  from  the  in- 
tellectual, sentient,  and  moral  side,  as  well  as  from 
the  corporeal  and  thinking,  as  a  moral  means  of 
preservation,  as  a  talisman;  since,  by  the  provision 
of  the  ball  for  free  and  full  use,  the  child  is  pre- 
served from  ill-humor,  and  from  all  the  moral  dis- 
eases which  proceed  from  it.     The  ball  has  the 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  189 

same  influence  in  reference  to  the  passions  and  emo- 
tions, since  the  ball  neither  arouses  nor  nourishes 
them,  but,  on  the  contrary,  strengthens  the  impulse 
of  the  child  to  the  activity  and  employment  cor- 
responding to  its  nature,  develops  in  harmony  with 
the  laws  of  his  own  life,  and  leads  to  formation. 

But  enough  has  been  said,  I  hope,  for  the  all- 
sided  confirmation  of  the  choice,  and  for  the  satis- 
factory justification  of  the  use  of  the  ball  as  the 
first  plaything  for  the  "  joy  "  of  the  child. 

The  total  activity  of  the  child  proves  (and  this 
became  prominent  even  in  the  preceding  remarks) 
that  he  advances  according  to  his  nature,  his  life, 
and  the  law  which  expresses  itself  in  his  life  (thus 
with  general  necessity  and  with  especial  joyousness 
and  freedom)  from  that  which  is  given  to  that 
which  is  opposite  to,  yet  like  it.  This  is  implied  in 
the  common  saying,  "  A  child  always  wants  some- 
thing new." 

But  that  which  is  opposite  to  yet  like  the  soft 
ball  is  the  hard,  firm  sphere  which  is  therefore,  ac- 
cording to  the  simple  and  natural  course  of  devel- 
opment, the  plaything  next  required  by  the  child. 

The  sphere  is  more  complete  than  the  ball,  and 
is  also  more  easily  movable,  as  its  surface  is  smooth- 
er; but  it  is  also  heavier,  and  therefore  rests  more 
firmly  and  determinately  w^hen  it  once  rests.  Yet, 
on  account  of  its  greater  weight,  the  child's  use  of 
it  makes  demands  upon  his  more  developed  strength 


190  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

and  dexterity.  But,  at  the  same  time,  that  it  makes 
more  demands  on  the  more  developed  strength  and 
dexterity,  it  also  shows  by  the  noisier  sound  caused 
by  its  use,  first,  its  greater  weight,  and  second,  the 
greater  strength  required  to  handle  it:  both  of 
which  please  the  child  as  the  expression  and  proof 
of  his  increased  power  in  the  play  with  the  sphere. 

All  this  shows  plainly  the  fact  that  this  progress 
in  the  material  proflfered  for  play,  and  consequently 
for  development  and  cultivation,  is,  in  several  re- 
spects, in  accordance  with  Nature;  and  this  is  high- 
ly important.  In  the  same  way  we  certainly  un- 
equivocally perceive  what  is  already  expressed  by 
the  just  employed  phrase,  ''  in  accordance  with 
Nature  " — namely,  that  the  advance  is  not  an  ar- 
bitrary one,  but  is  given  of  necessity,  since  it  in- 
cludes in  itself  likeness  and  progress  as  well  as 
contrast  and  stability,  and  therefore  the  indispensa- 
ble conditions  for  such  a  progress  of  the  child  and 
human  being  as  will  be  at  the  same  time  wholly 
satisfactory  and  worthy  of  humanity.  These  in- 
dispensable conditions  are  contained  and  expressed 
in  what  has  been  before  brought  forward.  In  the 
same  way  the  condition  of  the  development  of  each 
thing  and  being  shows  itself  as  necessarily  given  at 
the  same  time  with  the  thing.  This  condition  is, 
that  what  is  to  be  developed,  drawn  forth,  brought 
out  in  the  later  must  lie  as  a  germ  in  the  earlier. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  all  the 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  191 

general  laws  of  human  education,  but  lias  been  till 
now  but  little  noticed. 

It  is  highly  remarkable  (and  it  is  here  made 
prominent  once  for  all  in  its  importance)  how  in 
the  conviction  of  the  nature  of  the  human  being 
here  brought  forward  and  represented,  the  require- 
ments of  education,  as  well  as  the  means  and  ways 
of  education,  reciprocally  limit  and  explain,  justify 
and  confirm  each  other.  This  takes  place  inwardly 
and  (without  being  sought  for)  with  an  unmistak- 
able necessity  in  the  laws  of  development  given 
with  them  and  the  way  and  method  of  treating  and 
educating  the  child  proceeding  from  them.  This  is 
to  us  the  innermost  and  deepest  proof  of  the  truth 
of  the  whole,  which  can  be  grounded  only  in  the 
perfect  comprehension  of  the  whole  being  and  can 
proceed  only  from  that  comprehension. 

According  to  the  inner  condition  just  pre- 
sented, the  sphere  now  appears  as  the  second  play- 
mate of  the  ball.  The  logical  deduction  from 
the  preceding  remarks  is,  that  the  sphere  by  no 
means  supplants  the  ball,  but,  with  its  aid,  effects 
the  farther  development  of  the  child  who  loves 
them  both. 

On  account  of  its  by  no  means  slight  impor- 
tance, I  here  bring  forward  once  for  all,  the  fact, 
that  the  playthings  or  means  of  play,  the  following 
play-gifts,  as  we  call  them,  never  preclude  the  em- 
ployment of  the  preceding,  but  that  the  use  of  the 


192  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT, 

one  is  only  yet  more  extended,  explained,  etc.,  by 
that  of  the  other.  The  use  of  the  sphere  in  play 
and  the  features  of  the  play,  or,  in  other  words, 
the  employments  with  the  sphere  as  opposite  to, 
yet  like  the  ball,  have  naturally  very  much  in  com- 
mon with  the  play  with  the  ball,  only  that  the 
movements  of  the  sphere  are  much  more  exact  and 
defined  than  those  of  the  ball.  A  loop  of  wire,  to 
which  a  string  may  be  fastened,  is  affixed  to  the 
sphere,  so  that  it  may  be  moved  by  the  string. 

Each  plaything  is,  in  a  certain  point  of  view,  a 
complete  one  (as,  for  example,  each  of  the  senses 
of  the  human  being  is  itself  a  unit,  and  the  senses 
collectively  form  again  a  whole  of  a  higher  kind). 
So  each  plaything  has  its  appointed  task  to  accom- 
plish in  the  development  and  education  of  the  child 
to  the  stage  of  maturity,  and  this  task  is  to  be  ac- 
complished by  means  of  this  development  and  edu- 
cation. As  now  the  ball  is  to  lead  to  harmony 
and  accord,  particularly  by  the  variety  of  its  colors, 
so  the  sphere  is  to  lead  to  the  clear  perception,  com- 
prehension, and  retaining  of  unity  as  such,  espe- 
cially in  and  during  the  variety  of  its  turnings  and 
twistings,  by  which,  however,  it  clearly  and  unal- 
terably shows  the  one  sphere. 

This  clear  and  precise  perception  of  unity  in  life 
through  all  its  changes  may  he,  and  the  quiet  hold- 
ing fast  of  this  perception  is,  a  quality  which  we  all 
need,  that  we  may  preserve  the  peace  of  the  heart, 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  193 

that  we  may  attain  to  the  joyousness  of  life,  and 
that  we  may  secure  firmness  of  character  in  all  con- 
ditions and  under  the  most  different  relations.  To 
lead  the  child  to  this  in  the  most  gradual  and  play- 
ful way,  early  to  guide  a  number  of  children  to  this 
and  to  confirm  them  in  it,  will  bring  the  blessing 
of  genuine  education  into  several  families  at  least, 
and  perhaps  into  a  community,  or  even  into  a  city 
or  province.  For  the  proof  of  the  godlike  in  life 
and  of  the  influence  in  life  which  is  grounded  in 
the  godlike  is  that  the  blessings  of  it  lead  back  to 
the  smallest,  proceed  from  the  smallest,  and  yet 
stretch  out  far  and  wide. 

The  sphere  is  intended  to  benefit  the  child  by 
developing  his  power  of  perception  and  conception 
and  even  his  character,  in  play  and  by  means  of 
play,  though  quite  unanticipated  by  him.  It  is 
also  to  develop  the  body  and  its  members  as  a 
gymnastic  model,  as  it  were  (we  used  this  signifi- 
cant expression  in  speaking  of  the  ball),  by  its 
manifold  turnings  and  twistings.  In  order  to 
avoid  repetition  for  all  subsequent  play,  I  would 
here  state  that  words  spoken  and  sung  (conse- 
quently also  verses  and  little  rhymed  songs)  in 
a  manner  corresponding  to  the  child's  state  of  de- 
velopment, to  his  head  and  heart,  his  thought  and 
feeling,  his  mind  and  spirit,  are  to  make  a  reality  of 
the  early  entrance  upon  the  path  of  education  of  the 
human  being  to  all-sided  development  of  himself. 


194     EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

Be  it  here  remarked  as  essential  in  respect  to  the 
sphere  and  the  play  with  it,  that,  as  with  the  ball, 
the  colors  (as  it  were,  like  the  joys  of  life)  form  a 
symbol  of  plurality,  so  do  also  with  the  sphere, 
the  light  and  shade,  the  day  and  night  sides  of 
life.  (As  white  and  black  spheres  form,  as  it 
were,  the  opposite  poles  of  the  color  circle  which  re- 
solves itself  toward  one  pole  into  the  light,  the 
white;  toward  the  other  pole  condenses  into  the 
dark,  the  black.) 

This  small,  almost  insignificant,  alteration  gives 
to  the  plays  with  the  sphere  a  great  charm  for  the 
child,  and  very  rich  application  to  actual  life  in 
respect  to  its  most  different  sides,  especially  with  a 
grouping  of  many  children;  so  that  the  use  of  it 
for  the  development  of  the  practical  employment 
of  the  children  of  all  conditions  must  be  clear  to  the 
unprejudiced  eye.  By  means  of  the  new,  added 
shades,  the  relations  of  number,  form,  and  rhythm 
appear  in  as  new  a  light  as  a  beautiful  country  does 
by  means  of  corresponding  shades  of  light  when 
thrown  on  a  white  ground. 

What  is  now  to  be  the  indispensably  necessary 
advance  to  the  next  plaything? 

The  sphere  has  one  surface,  which  is  therefore 
a  curved  one.  The  contrast  must  have  straight 
surfaces  and  several  of  them.  The  sphere  has  no 
corners  and  no  edges;  the  contrast  must  have  cor- 
ners and  edges.     These  are  the  opposite  properties 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  195 

which  the  next  solid  used  for  play  must  show. 
Now  for  the  similarity:  The  sphere  has  three  sim- 
ilar directions  or  axes,  reciprocally  intersecting  each 
other  at  right  angles,  and  these  axes  must  appear 
clearly  and  precisely  when  the  body  is  at  rest.  The 
next  solid  used  for  play  must  necessarily  have  these 
like  properties  together  with  the  above-named  oppo- 
site ones.  But  this  can  only  be  the  cube  or  hexa- 
hedron; therefore  the  cube  is  with  indispensable 
necessity  the  third  developing,  educating  playmate 
of  the  child. 

On  account  of  the  plurality  of  its  properties 
the  cube,  in  comparison  with  the  simple,  round 
sphere,  shows  and  gives  a  plurality  of  use  and  a 
multiplicity  of  the  most  different  appearances,  as 
the  sphere  shows  an  all-sidedness  of  movement. 
Thus  the  always  stable  cube,  with  its  straight  sur- 
faces, represents  itself  to  the  child  as  the  opposite 
of  the  round,  easily  movable  sphere,  but  yet  similar 
to  it. 

So  the  cube  first  shows  to  the  child  by  its  sur- 
faces, corners,  and  edges,  the  purest  contrast  of  the 
all-sided  extension  in  one  plane  by  the  surfaces, 
and  the  all-sided  convergence  to  a  point  by  the  cor- 
ners. It  shows  also,  by  the  edges,  the  connection  of 
the  two  in  the  line,  as  it  were,  since  they  can  stretch 
out  indefinitely  on  two  sides,  but  on  the  other  are 
drawn  together  like  the  point.  The  law  of  con- 
nection was  already  approached  with  the  ball  in 


196  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  colors.  This  law  now  shows  itself  to  the  child 
almost  constantly  in  each  of  his  playful  activities, 
and  so  as  an  all-prevailing  law  of  formation  and 
life.  It  is  later  essential  for  insight  and  recogni- 
tion, as  well  as  for  creation  and  action ;  for  arousing 
and  fostering  the  moral  part  of  man's  nature,  as 
well  as  for  all-sided,  purest,  and  highest  life  union. 
It  is  important  that  this  law  be  now  brought  to 
childish  simple  notice  and  perception  in  a  childlike 
way  even  at  an  early  stage  of  the  child's  develop- 
ment. The  necessity  of  this  requirement  and  of 
quiet  obedience  to  this  requirement  very  soon  re- 
veals itself  for  the  welfare  and  pleasure  of  pupil 
and  educator,  of  trained  and  trainer.  The  child's 
first  pure  incitement  to  comprehend  and  carry  out 
all  that  is  great  and  good  in  life  is  his  pleasure  in 
so  doing. 

But  in  yet  another  respect  the  perception  and 
contemplation  of  a  comprehensive  law  of  life  and 
development  are  important  even  in  the  earliest  edu- 
cation, since  we  may  not  forget  that  we  are  per- 
ceptively intellectual  beings,  and  that  our  first  edu- 
cation especially  requires  the  corresponding  percep- 
tively intellectual  contemplation  in  order  thereby 
to  rise  to  a  purer,  more  intellectual  perception,  and, 
finally,  to  inner  spiritual  comprehension  which  must 
be  as  free  as  possible.  Up  to  the  present  time  this 
forgetfulness  has,  alas,  been  shown,  to  our  great 
detrim^ent,  in  many  ways,  especially  in  our  earliest 


EDUCATIONAL   PRINCIPLES.  197 

primary  school  and  national  education,  the  sad  re- 
sult of  which  are  now  evident.  As  genuine,  bene- 
ficially acting  educators,  recognizing  the  deficiencies 
of  our  present  training  and  called  to  improve  it, 
we  must  above  all  give  again  the  genuine  and  com- 
prehensive symbol  to  the  education  of  our  chil- 
dren and  youth,  and  the  many-sided  education  of 
the  people,  based  upon  the  first  education  of  child- 
hood and  youth.  This  only  can  furnish  to  our  peo- 
ple what  they  need,  for  just  the  empty,  effete  ideas 
which  have  been  committed  to  memory  in  certain 
logical  connections  have  made  the  people  also  empty 
and  dead,  and  weakened  them  for  vigorous  com- 
prehension of  the  right.  Here  is  a  principal  cause 
of  the  perplexities  of  life,  for  which  reason  I  felt 
myself  imperatively  urged  to  linger  so  long  on  this 
part  of  my  subject. 

We  now  return  to  the  cube  as  the  third  object 
for  the  child's  play  and  development. 

By  its  form  it  leads,  firstly j  to  the  perception 
of  the  solid  form  and  to  the  knowledge  of  its  boun- 
daries, of  the  sides,  the  edges,  and  the  corners  (sur- 
faces, lines,  points),  and  of  their  different  relations 
to  one  another  in  form,  position,  and  size. 

One  must  of  course  see  for  himself  among  the 
children  the  way  and  manner  of  introducing  the 
cube,  in  order  to  convince  himself  that  it  is  possible 
to  do  it  in  a  manner  corresponding  to  the  child's 
nature  and  the  then  existing  stage  of  his  develop- 

15 


198  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ment,  and  that  this  is  actually  done.  It  is  in  many 
ways  difficult  if  not  impossible  to  present  this  mere- 
ly by  words. 

Form,  size,  and  number  are  important  to  the 
comprehension  of  the  figure  and  to  the  perception 
of  its  interior,  and  are  therefore  important  for  life. 
But  the  clear,  sure  gaze  is  just  as  important,  for 
this  reason,  that  early  notice  of  both  inward  and 
outward,  and  introduction  into  the  perception  of 
both,  is  a  great  gain  for  the  whole  life  as  a  whole. 
But  with  the  human  being  as  a  child  everything 
begins  in  and  with  the  comprehension  of  what  is 
perceived  by  the  senses.  Therefore  the  early 
introduction  of  the  child  into  the  perception  of 
form,  size,  and  number  lies  in  the  nature  of  the 
human  being  and  in  the  nature  of  the  child,  only 
not  in  the  abstract,  bodiless,  and  objectless,  but  con- 
nected with  bodies  and  objects. 

And  so  also  the  cube,  in  the  same  way  that  it 
leads  into  form  and  size,  leads,  secondly,  into  num- 
ber and  its  relations,  in  the  most  constant  natural 
way,  which  is  therefore  also  the  most  agreeable  and 
most  judicious  for  the  child.  It  thus  appears  like 
an  entertaining  teacher  of  arithmetic  in  the  most 
manifold  numerical  connections  of  its  sides,  edges, 
points,  angles,  etc.  But  here  we  must  again  refer 
to  that  which  concerns  the  truth  of  the  whole  thing, 
to  that  perception  which  is  gained  in  child  life,  but 
is  still  more  obtained  by  the  third  way  of  viewing 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  199 

the  cube  where  it  shows  the  most  various  and  pe- 
culiar appearances  in  its  different  positions  and 
movements.  It  is  especially  suited  for  play  in  re- 
spect to  its  manif oldness,  which  fascinates  the  child. 
It  is  also  important  for  child,  man,  and  life  in  its 
higher  meaning.  Such  plays  show  and  demon- 
strate that  the  human  being  is  born  for  research; 
that  he  is  to  practice  it  even  as  a  child,  as  also  that 
he  is,  just  as  early  in  life,  to  separate  that  which 
seems  from  that  which  is. 

Yet  this  is,  of  course,  by  no  means  all  that  can 
be  said  and  brought  forward  of  that  which  the  sim- 
ple cube  develops  from  itself  by  activity  and  differ- 
ent ways  of  perception.  For  in  the  notice,  etc., 
of  form,  size,  and  number,  and  of  the  different  ways 
of  appearing  with  one  and  the  same  fixed  form, 
fourthly,  it  leads  the  child  in  a  childlike  manner 
into  the  fundamental  ideas  of  physics  and  me- 
chanics, the  science  of  movement  by  its  pressing 
on  the  hand,  etc.,  and  by  its  rising  and  sinking  by 
means  of  the  string.  Fifthly,  it  serves  as  an  in- 
troduction into  life  and  to  the  objects  of  life  by  the 
different  ways  of  perceiving  and  looking  at  it, 
which  proceed  from  the  child's  fancy;  for  example, 
as  a  square  stone,  as  a  bale  of  goods,  as  a  chopping 
block,  as  a  tree  tub  in  a  greenhouse,  etc. 

A  remark  in  respect  to  the  playing  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  play  of  the  child  here  obtrudes  itself. 
It  should  perhaps  have  been  rendered  prominent 


200     EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

even  earlier  and  must  not  remain  longer  unnoticed, 
because  it  is  so  highly  important  in  respect  to  the 
child's  whole  occupation,  to  his  relation  as  a  per- 
ceptively intellectual  being,  to  the  object  of  his  play 
and  the  use  of  that  object,  and  also  to  his  content- 
ment. This  remark  is,  that  the  child's  satisfaction 
in  playing  and  his  delight  in  what  he  plays  are  by 
no  means  peculiarly  connected  with  the  outward 
appearance  and  value  of  the  plaything,  and  with  the 
perfection  it  shows,  but  rather  with  what  the  child 
can  represent  by  means  of  this  object,  with  what 
he  can  conceive,  perceive,  and  imagine  by  means  of 
that  which  is  outwardly  represented.  The  high  im- 
portance of  the  child's  playing  and  of  the  games  he 
plays  is  that  what  takes  place  within  him  is  awak- 
ened and  developed  during  the  play  and,  by  means 
of  the  playing,  takes  form.  It  is  this,  not  merely 
the  object  of  play  as  such,  which  gives  the  child 
pleasure  in  his  play,  and  causes  him  to  be  satis- 
fied by  it.  Therefore  the  child  likes  best  that  play- 
thing, whatever  its  outward  appearance  may  be, 
by  which  and  with  which  he  can  form  and  ac- 
complish the  most:  that  is,  can  call  forth  in  him- 
self the  greatest  number  of  and  most  satisfying 
conceptions,  imaginations,  and  fancies  as  vividly  as 
if  he  saw  them  actually  in  himself  and  outside  of 
himself,  even  in  the  most  imperfect  outlines  and 
representations.  This  perceiving  and  actual  repre- 
senting of  things  in  the  outside  world — even  though 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  201 

very  imperfectly,  yet  always  as  a  wliole  complete 
in  itself — is  just  what  gives  such  an  exceedingly 
high,  strengthening,  as  well  as  developing  value  to 
the  representation  plays  as  compared  with  the 
empty  activity  of  forming  abstract  ideas  or  acting 
out  such  ideas.  These  representation  games  are 
plays  of  the  fancy  awakened  by  actual  life  and 
connected  with  it.  But  that  occupation  with  ab- 
stract ideas  can  develop  itself  boundlessly  (and  so 
also  into  the  formless),  and  yet  be  connected  by  no 
condition,  no  possibility,  to  the  fixed,  clear,  and 
precise  life-forms.  However  incomplete  these  rep- 
resentations may  be  in  themselves,  yet  they  are  a 
self-contained,  firmly  defined,  sharply  bounded,  al- 
ready existing  whole  which  can  now  be  completed 
and  perfected  by  continued  cultivation,  persever- 
ance, diligence,  dexterity,  and  skill:  all  of  which 
can  in  a  certain  point  of  view  be  obtained  by  firm 
will. 

Hence  the  actually  quite  incalculable,  price- 
less value  of  the  early  exercises,  the  modes  of  play 
and  employment,  as,  in  general,  of  development, 
education,  and  cultivation  of  the  child  and  youth 
which  are  here  demonstrated  and  entered  upon, 
and  which  are  alike  important  for  all  conditions  and 
relations  of  life,  but  especially  important  for  all 
conditions  and  callings  of  practical  and  executive 
life.  For  they  free  man  from  the  life  of  empty 
and  formless,  vacant,  as  well  as  measureless  imagi- 


202  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

nation  and  fancy,  which,  is  so  inwardly  full  of  dis- 
turbance, outwardly  demolishing  and  annihilating, 
or  at  least  perplexing,  because  they  give  to  the  hu- 
man being  and  to  his  life  all  that  his  spirit  hopes 
and  anticipates,  all  for  which  his  heart  yearns,  and 
which  his  outward  existence  requires.  They  give, 
on  the  one  side,  material  and  contents,  substance 
and  form,  value  and  dignity  to  life,  and  thus  to 
thought  and  feeling  as  well  as  to  action.  They 
give  life,  vocation,  aim,  and  the  determination  of 
one's  own  destiny,  to  the  human  being,  to  the 
individual  as  well  as  to  the  whole  human  race. 
These  means  of  employment  indeed  preserve 
throughout  the  happy  and  satisfying  idea  which 
is  to  become  truth  and  reality,  and  which  actual 
life  gives. 

"  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also,"  are  the  words  of  the 
greatest  educator  of  man.  Consequently  the  peace, 
which  he  left  us  as  he  departed,  and  which  the 
world  does  not  give,  must  finally  become  a  fact. 
So  also  must  every  blessing  which  his  life  and  his 
teaching  would  bring  to  us,  that  it  to  say,  that  union 
of  life  and  Nature,  humanity,  and  God  which  he 
anticipated  and  recognized.  What  he  said  about 
little  children  must  be  true — "  Of  such  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.''  His  statement  that  "  whoso  shall 
receive  one  such  little  child  in  my  name  receiveth 
me  "  must  be  a  fact,  and  not  a  glittering,  specious 
but  perishable  sound  of  words  tending  to  the  indul- 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  203 

gence  of  ambition  and  egotism,  self-interest,  etc., 
and  even  to  the  nourishment  of  sectarian  hatred. 

What  has  just  been  said  in  respect  to  the  cube 
can  be  said  with  equal  truth  about  the  methods  of 
guiding  children,  which  have  been  already  pre- 
sented, as  well  as  in  respect  to  each  of  the  modes  of 
play  and  employment  yet  to  be  brought  forward, 
as  it  is  the  keystone  of  the  whole.  For  this  is  just 
the  spirit  that  lives  in  the  whole,  in  which  and  by 
which  the  whole  has  its  existence,  its  being,  its  con- 
tinued formation  and  cultivation.  But,  as  it  presses 
itself  forward  here  in  the  midst  as  the  center  and 
middle  point  of  the  whole,  who  could  or  would  hold 
it  back?  And  so  let  it  be  here  stated  that  this  is 
now  said  once  for  all,  but  though  said  but  once 
could  and  really  should  be  repeated  in  respect  to 
each  exposition  of  it  brought  forward  in  the  fu- 
ture, because  it  finds  its  more  perfectly  formed 
and  more  comprehensive  confirmation  in  the  greater 
increasingly  cultivated  manifoldness  of  the  self -un- 
folding plays  and  ways  of  employment  of  children. 

The  law  of  connection  is  the  most  important 
law  of  the  universe,  of  humanity,  and  of  life  in  gen- 
eral. The  child  is  to  be  treated  as  a  member  of 
humanity,  and  consequently  of  all  life,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  highest  and  most  effective  laws  of 
life,  and  is  to  be  developed  and  educated  according 
to  those  laws.  But  the  child  is  also  life  itself.  His 
plays  and  employments  are  mere  representations  of 


204:  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

life;  therefore  the  connection  in  his  plays,  and  his 
ways  and  means  of  playing,  must  also  appear  as 
necessary  as  it  is  unsought.  The  next  object  of 
play  is  a  proof  of  this. 

The  sphere  and  cube  are  pure  opposites.  They 
stand  to  each  other  in  the  relation  of  unity  and 
plurality,  but  especially  of  movement  and  rest,  of 
round  and  straight.  The  law  of  connection  de- 
mands for  these  two  opposite  yet  like  bodies  and  ob- 
jects of  play  a  connecting  one,  which  is  the  cylinder. 
It  combines  unity  complete  in  itself  in  the  round 
surface,  and  plurality  in  the  two  straight  ones. 
The  part  of  the  surface  of  the  cylinder  taken  for 
the  base  shows  how  in  the  first  (i.  e.,  in  a  curved 
surface  taken  for  the  base)  is  expressed  movement, 
in  the  second  (i.  e.,  in  one  of  the  plane  surfaces 
taken  for  the  base)  rest,  as  the  cylinder  combines 
plane  and  round. 

Thus,  then,  the  cylinder  is  the  child's  fifth  object 
of  play,  and  child  life,  especially  in  the  country, 
proves  to  us  the  truth  and  correctness  of  the  se- 
lection. Only  consider  how  the  country  children 
play  with  the  cylindrical  or  round  pieces  of  wood, 
the  so-called  clubs,  especially  with  shorter,  more 
disk-like  pieces  sawed  off  from  them,  which  is  di- 
rectly according  to  nature,  since  in  these  the  plane 
surfaces  predominate. 

We  see  thus  with  pleasure  that  in  the  choice  of 
these  three  early  and  almost  first  playthings  of  the 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  205 

child  we  have  on  the  one  side  quite  strictly  followed 
the  requirement  of  the  thought,  of  the  idea,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  free  life  of  the  child  and  the 
requirements  of  that  life,  and  so  have  come  to  one 
and  the  same  result.  These  means  of  play  and 
the  mode  of  playing  have  approved  themselves  in 
the  life  of  the  children  in  freer,  more  playful  de- 
velopment through  the  experience  of  more  than  ten 
years,  during  which  they  have  been  used  with  the 
child  and  with  whole  circles  of  children.  This  be- 
ing the  case  we  can  be  assured  that  we  have  seized 
the  great  means  of  development  for  the  first  stage 
of  childhood  which  we  have  here  in  view. 

There  is  nothing  further  to  be  said  about  the 
particular  and  individual  use  of  the  cylinder;  this 
use  is  determined  by  its  form  as  well  as  by  the  use 
of  the  two  last-named  playmates  of  the  child. 

But  another  essential  thing  must  be  expressed. 
As  opposites  with  their  connection,  the  sphere,  the 
cylinder,  and  cube  (as  was  before  the  case  with  the 
twice  three  play  balls)  appear  as  a  play-whole  com- 
plete in  itself,  and,  belonging  together  as  they  do 
in  a  kind  of  family,  form  the  second  play-gift. 
We  will  later  return  to  their  more  extended  use. 

Yet  these  first  objects  of  children's  play  point 
somewhat  toward  the  more  effective  phenomena  of 
social  life  and  of  the  life  of  art.  Tor  instance, 
the  cube,  the  cylinder,  and  the  sphere  as  a  con- 
nected trio  point  toward  another  trio  in  architec- 


206  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ture — the  column,  composed  of  pedestal  (cube), 
shaft  (cylinder),  and  capital  (sphere). 

This  manner  of  connecting  opposites  by  com- 
bining them  into  a  whole  complete  in  itself  seems 
to  me  the  most  essential  thing  in  the  columnar  or- 
ders. The  tripartite  character  (always  combining 
opposites)  pervades  their  whole  composition.  I 
consider  that  on  this  connection  and  on  this  tripar- 
tite character  is  based  the  fact  (as  resting  on  a  high 
comprehensive  law  of  formation)  that  the  columnar 
orders  maintain  themselves  in  their  purity  as  the 
foundation  of  the  noble  art  of  architecture  through- 
out Europe  as  well  as  America.  The  reason  of  this 
fact  is  that  they  not  only  form  a  beautiful  whole 
complete  in  itself,  but,  in  that  whole,  imprint  on  the 
mind  a  clear,  simple  thought,  an  idea  full  of  life. 
Thus  the  Gothic  style  of  architecture  finds  its  value 
in  the  fact  that  it  shows  simple  imitation  of  Nature 
in  pure  laws  of  number,  form,  and  size,  for  exam- 
ple, in  the  trees  standing  together  in  orderly  ar- 
rangement, although  growing  naturally  with 
boughs  bending  toward  each  other,  forming  crossed 
and  pointed  arches. 

This  fact  has  been  so  distinctly  brought  out 
here  for  the  purpose  of  indicating  at  some  future 
time  the  uniting  single  spirit  which  makes  itself 
known  in  all  that  has  grown  out  from  formation 
and  through  formation,  especially  from  the  clear 
thoughts  and  ideas  of  human  beings  at  all  times 


EDUCATIONAL  PEINCIPLES.  207 

and  in  all  zones.  Another  reason  for  the  presen- 
tation of  this  fact  is  in  order  to  point  out  the  single 
spirit  which  at  the  same  time  expresses  itself  in 
human  life  and  the  life  of  Nature  according  to 
similar  laws,  although  in  different  stages  of  devel- 
opment. 

This  spirit  of  humanity  and  of  man,  this  spirit 
in  itself  single  and  therefore  again  leading  to  union 
in  Nature  and  humanity  (thus  the  single  spirit  of 
God  working  in  all,  creating  all  life,  and  again 
unifying  it  in  higher  consciousness),  this  spirit  of 
unification  must,  like  a  warm  breath  of  spring, 
spread  over  and  unify  the  life  of  the  child  if  we 
human  beings  are  to  unite  and  will  unite  in  truth, 
first  individually,  then  (socially  and  as  individ- 
uals) in  the  family,  in  the  life  of  the  commu- 
nity, and  in  that  of  the  nation;  and  if  we  are 
first  to  feel  and  then  to  recognize  ourselves  as  a  unit, 
in  and  with  humanity,  and  finally  are  consciously 
thus  to  live. 

This  spirit  of  union  must  early  light  and  warm 
the  life  of  man,  like  the  sun  rising  clear  in  the 
morning,  shining  anew  over  all  life,  separating  in- 
deed life  and  the  living  into  their  component  parts, 
but  yet  again  uniting  all  by  the  light  which  is  in 
itself  single.  And  "  the  spirit  which  forms  life  is 
unity."  "  One  spirit  it  is  which  gives  life  unto 
all."  So  also  the  genuine  spirit  of  the  early  nur- 
ture   of   childhood   which    awakens    genuine    life 


208  EDUCATION   BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

in  and  around  us,  gives  it  back  to  us  and  us  to  it. 
Only  through  this  spirit  is  the  long  anticipated, 
long  yearned  for  goal  of  all-sided  life  union  gained 
by  the  individual  man,  the  peoples,  the  nations, 
and  all  humanity. 

We  have  now  come  with  our  play,  our  means 
of  employment  and  gifts  (in  respect  to  the  use  of 
which  we  must  refer,  as  we  have  before  said,  to 
life,  to  their  employment  in  genuine  spiritual  kin- 
dergartens, and  in  families  where  the  children  are 
fostered  in  this  spirit,  as  well  as  to  the  articles  upon 
this  subject  which  have  already  appeared  and  are 
still  appearing)  to  an  essential  division  of  our  sub- 
ject, of  the  nature  of  which  we  have  first  to  form  a 
clear  idea  before  we  can  with  security  go  on  build- 
ing upon  it  and  (proceeding  from  it  in  conformity 
with  the  subject)  continue  our  lifeful  development. 

Now,  what  is  the  nature  of  the  means  of  play 
which  have  been  heretofore  given?  This,  that  the 
object  of  play  was  always  a  unit  complete  within 
itself,  a  non-separable  whole.  Only  at  last,  at  the 
conclusion,  we  see  that  three  objects  in  themselves 
single  can  form  together  again  a  whole  which  is  in 
itself  single,  like  the  ball,  but  in  contrast  with  this 
a  whole  which  consists  of  single  parts  bearing  the 
same  relation  to  one  another  and  to  the  whole  as 
the  individual  members  bear  to  the  whole  which  is 
in  itself  single;  but,  since  they  were  considered  in 
our  earlier  treatment  always  as  wholes,  they  ap- 


EDUCATIONAL   PRINCIPLES.  209 

pear  as  part-wholes.  And  this  property  of  things 
to  be  whole  and  parts,  a  part-whole,  and  the 
comprehension  and  treatment  of  things  and  so 
again  of  the  human  being,  even  of  the  smallest 
child  in  its  earliest  appearance  conformably  to  this 
property,  are  so  highly  important  for  the  child  that 
the  human  being,  and  consequently  the  child,  can 
not  too  early  be  led  into  the  observation,  knowl- 
edge, and  treatment  of  the  same.  That  this  now 
is  to  be  done  by  the  next  plaything  and  means  of 
play  is  definitely  expressed  in  the  preceding  (the 
second)  gift;  sphere,  cylinder,  and  cube  considered 
as  a  whole,  in  itself  single. 

But  the  instinct  of  the  human  mother  also  leads 
to  this,  since  the  mother  seeks  to  content  her  restless 
child  by  procuring  a  plurality  of  things  for  its  use. 
So  also  the  child  is  instinctively  moved  to  obtain 
a  plurality  of  bodies  capable  of  being  again  joined 
together,  since  it  likes  to  divide  separable  bodies, 
and  even  likes  to  observe  the  parts  of  membered 
objects  singly  and  disjoined  and  so  as  movable. 

In  accordance  with  this  indwelling  desire  of  the 
child  for  a  divided  and  membered  whole  and  the 
requirement  for  the  next  play-gift,  already  ex- 
pressed at  the  conclusion  of  the  second  play-gift  (as 
such  a  whole  formed  from  different  kinds  of  parts), 
now  follows,  according  to  the  law  of  continued 
progress  of  the  means  of  play,  the  cube  once  divided, 
but  on  all  sides,  thus  again  uniting  in  itself  the  op- 


210  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

posites  of  one  and  all.  By  tlie  division  the  whole 
cube  appears  divided  into  eight  equal  cubes,  and  we 
thus  say,  as  it  were,  "  see,  it  is  highly  important  to 
consider  the  cube-form  in  life,  therefore  there  ap- 
pear here  eight  equal  part-cubes." 

And  so  it  actually  is.  The  knowledge  of  the 
cube  form  is  so  important  for  the  whole  life  in  all 
respects — in  respect  to  the  inner  as  well  as  to  the 
outer  life,  in  respect  to  Nature  as  well  as  to  human 
life,  and  here  again  in  respect  to  artistic,  scientific, 
and  practical  life — that  its  form,  its  comprehension, 
and  its  management  can  not  be  too  early  or  too  ur- 
gently brought  before  the  child.  Demonstrations 
of  this  in  life  and  proofs  from  life  are  innumerable ; 
only  two  are  here  given.  Winkelmann  tells  us  that 
the  Graces  were  at  first  honored  in  an  old  temple  in 
Greece  in  the  form  of  three  perfect  cubes.  The  im- 
portance of  the  cube  for  sculpture  and  for  the 
higher  and  common  architecture  can  be  plainly 
seen.  In  science  the  knowledge  of  the  cube  form 
is,  for  the  investigation  of  solids,  what  the 
straight  line  is  for  insight  into  the  nature  of  the 
surface  form;  indeed,  it  appears  full  of  meaning 
and  significance  even  for  moral  life  and  its  striv- 
ings. How  instructive  it  is,  therefore,  in  and  for 
such  an  old  and  far  extended  association  for  general 
attainment  of  genuine  humanity  as  a  many-sided 
symbol  of  this  effort  and  of  the  conditions  for  at- 
taining its  aim,  etc.     Therefore  in  the  first  and 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  211 

simplest  division  of  the  cube  wliich  the  child  at 
first  attempts  there  appears  only  the  cube  again, 
though  in  numbers,  and,  as  we  significantly  say 
from  a  higher  insight  into  language,  eight  (acht) 
times  presented  to  notice  (Be-acht-ung).  Therefore 
the  attraction  which  these  eight  simple  cubes,  each 
of  which  appears  exactly  the  same  as  the  others, 
have  for  the  children  even  in  their  second  year,  is 
quite  magical.  It  is  wonderful  how  these  simple 
cubes  are  so  warmly  loved  and  valued  in  their  con- 
stantly unalterable  form  and  figure,  as  well  as  in 
their  constantly  abiding  number,  by  the  children 
who  are  ever  striving  for  something  new  and  differ- 
ent, and  how  fond  they  become  of  this  small  num- 
ber of  playmates  which  are  always  alike!  (As  the 
legendary  world  is  of  its  dwarfs  because  they  ac- 
commodate themselves  to  everything  and  are  skilled 
and  helpful  to  do  everything,  like  the  little  man- 
drake [our  Brownie]).  Experience  gives  many 
proofs  of  this  inward,  delicate,  cordial  companion- 
ship, of  these  eight  inflexible,  unalterable  cubes  with 
the  most  thoughtful,  delicate,  actually  angelic  chil- 
dren in  the  genuine  institutions  for  the  fostering  of 
children,  as  well  as  in  the  families  where  their  most 
free  and  careful  development  is  striven  for,  so  that 
a  whole  pamphlet  of  lovely  children's  stories  might 
be  written  about  it.  A  few  lines  shall  serve  as  a 
guide  to  the  true  inner  relation  of  this  plaything 
to  the  children  and  to  their  innermost  need  of  devel- 


212  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

opment  and  training,  for  those  who  are  not  swayed 
by  selfish  motives  (to  mention  whose  names  would 
here  be  inadmissible)  but  are  urged  by  deep,  holy, 
solemn  earnestness  to  test  by  mind,  spirit  and  life, 
experience  and  investigation,  all  that  a  pure,  loving 
disposition  toward  children,  human  beings  and  hu- 
manity reveals  for  their  education,  so  that  there 
may  again  be  for  our  children  a  genuine  childhood, 
that  is,  a  life  in  which  spirit,  mind,  and  power  of 
action,  feeling,  thinking,  and  handling  first  pene- 
trate and  strengthen,  as  being  intimately  united,  be- 
fore they  are  necessitated  to  enter  into  the  outer  life 
in  the  separation  which  is  an  unavoidable  requisite 
iot  higher  consciousness.  For  separation  is  per- 
mitted for  the  observing,  thinking,  and  comparing 
intellect  and  the  outwardly  representing  life,  and 
is  indeed  required  by  it,  but  must  by  no  means  on 
that  account  be  permitted  to  appear  in  the  mind 
which  is  destined  to  constantly  grasp  and  retain 
in  its  original,  inner  union  that  which  is  outwardly 
apparently  separated  by  the  thinking  intellect,  the 
reason,  and  the  life. 

To  fufiU  this  (the  most  difficult  requirement  in 
life)  or  to  live  in  life,  which  is  esteemed  the  great- 
est art,  can  now  never  be  taught  to  the  man  in  the 
most  highly  remarkable  and  important  ways,  or,  in- 
deed, learned  by  him,  just  because  it  depends  on 
comprehending  and  retaining  the  original  (that 
which  was  originally  in  itself  a  unit).    It  can  there- 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES.  213 

fore  only  be  early  fostered,  strengthened,  and  de- 
veloped in  the  human  being — the  child.  It  must 
therefore  also  be  early  observed,  in  fact  with  the 
commencement  of  the  life. of  the  child.  Now  both 
these  actually  take  place  in  a  way  highly  worthy 
of  thought,  and  most  conformably  and  satisfactorily, 
in  the  way  of  observing  and  guiding,  developing 
and  educating  children  which  lies  before  us  for 
contemplation.  And  what  is  further  not  less  wor- 
thy of  notice  is  that  just  the  point  in  this  whole 
method  of  comprehending  and  treating  children 
which  meets  with  the  most  hostility,  just  the  means 
of  play  most  vigorously  assailed  by  its  opponents — 
the  sphere,  the  cylinder,  and  the  cube,  and  also  not 
less  the  eight  simple  cubes — fulfill  this  most  difii- 
cult  requirement  perfectly,  lead  most  satisfactorily 
to  the  practice  of  that  greatest  of  arts,  since  they 
foster  and  develop  child  life  in  the  most  delicate, 
judicious,  warm,  pure,  harmoniously  united  manner 
just  by  the  outwardly  inflexible  and  sharp  separa- 
tion they  present  to  notice,  as  well  as  to  treatment, 
as  is  now  proved  by  the  life  of  many  hundreds  of 
children  already  occupied  with  them.  The  most 
striking  proof  of  the  comprehensiveness  and  deep 
foundation  of  the  idea  of  genuine  human  training 
here  presented  is  that  it  elevates  to  the  highest 
glory  just  that  of  which  it  was  to  show  the  nullity. 
So  it  is  also  with  the  reproach  that  the  children 

when  occupied  with  Froebel's  plays  in  Troebel's 
16 


214  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

Kindergarten  are  earnest  but  with  faces  not  pre- 
cisely either  joyous  or  laughing.  Indeed,  life,  witli 
its  deep  earnestness,  can  not  be  early  enough 
grasped,  especially  in  the  present  times;  and  does 
not  one  of  our  most  celebrated  educators,  Jean 
Paul,  say,  "  Play  has  for  the  child  the  greatest  ear- 
nestness and  attracts  the  little  one  like  a  business; 
indeed,  it  lays  claim  to  it  like  a  kind  of  work  by 
thought,  feeling  and  acting,  mind,  intellect,  and 
action.''  Thus  here  also — and  it  happens  for  the 
second  time — the  arrow  which  struck  and  was  to 
annihilate  the  thing,  fell  as  a  trophy  of  war,  feebly 
and  without  effect,  before  the  feet  of  the  thing  at 
which  it  was  aimed. 

Kejoice,  children,  over  FroebeFs  plays.  They 
insure  to  you  the  highest  treasure  of  life,  a  life 
which  is  in  itself  a  unit.  They  insure  you  a 
thoughtful  mind.  They  insure  the  anticipation  of 
your  hearts,  and  so  confirm  your  blessed  faith  in 
an  eternally  invisible,  single,  good  Being — God. 


VI. 

THE    father's    cradle    SONG. 

Softly! 
Softly,  my  son  now  sleeps,  softly! 
My  boy's  trust  in  me  is  deep 
That  he,  through  this  stress  of  living 
Be  not  roused  too  soon  from  sleep; 
For  the  strength  the  night  is  giving 
Through  the  whole  day  he  must  keep. 

Softly,  softly,  softly. 

Softly! 
Softly,  my  son  now  sleeps,  softly! 
Childhood  is  of  life  the  night,    j 
Should  in  quiet  stillness  pass  on; 
Then,  when  comes  the  dawning  light 
Ready  is  the  arm  for  action. 
Strong  and  able  for  the  fight. 

Softly,  softly,  softly. 

Softly! 
Softly,  my  son  now  sleeps,  softly! 
In  life's  battlefield  so  stern. 
Courage  pure  and  strength  uniting 
Backward  will  all  evil  turn, 

215 


216  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

Gain  the  prize  by  bravely  figbting; 
This  the  weaklings  never  learn. 
Softly,  softly,  softly! 

Softly! 
Softly,  my  son  now  sleeps,  softly! 
From  the  clear,  soft  light  of  dawn 
Joyously  the  day  is  springing; 
So  the  spirit's  life  is  born. 
To  its  deed  its  will  thus  bringing; 
Thought  of  failure  wakes  its  scorn. 

Softly,  softly,  softly! 

Softly! 
Softly,  my  son  now  sleeps,  softly! 
Each  act  well  weighed  by  the  mind, 
Prompted  by  the  heart's  warm  glow, 
Will  fulfillment  surely  find; 
Bravely  thus  be  met  also 
Death  itself — all  ills  combined. 

Softly,  softly,  softly! 

Softly! 
Softly,  my  son  now  sleeps,  softly! 
So  sleep  on,  my  little  lad, 
Till  to  the  heart's  love  warm  within 
You  the  spirit's  light  shall  add 
For  strength  and  light  the  victory  win. 
Without  light  all  life  Is  sad. 

Softly,  softly,  softly! 


VII. 

THE    children's    GARDENS    IN    THE    KINDERGARTEN. 

The  higli  importance  of  intimate  acquaintance 
and  union  with  Nature  for  the  development  of  the 
child,  the  education  of  man,  the  training  of  the  na- 
tions and  of  all  humanity,  has  been  already  many 
times  mentioned  in  this  work,  as  it  is  the  sure  foun- 
dation of  successful  and  profitable  education  and 
training  of  the  individual  as  well  as  of  all  humanity. 
For  we  can  not  comprehend  Nature  in  its  whole  be- 
ing more  precisely  and  more  satisfactorily  and  vivid- 
ly in  all  its  relations  than  when  we  consider  it  as  the 
direct  manifestation  in  action  of  God,  the  first 
manifestation  of  God;  but  we  have  not  yet  devel- 
oped the  importance  of  this  in  detail.  This  impor- 
tance is  shown  in  the  consideration  of  the  growth 
and  development  of  Nature,  and  its  comparison 
with  the  growth  and  development  of  the  human 
being,  and  so,  first  of  all,  considered  and  compared 
with  one's  own  growth  and  development.  If  now 
this  comparative  study  is  important  for  man,  it 
is  especially  important  for  the  embryo  man — the 
child.  Thus  an  all-sided  satisfactory  education 
217 


218  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

(and  thus  the  existence  of  the  kindergarten)  neces- 
sarily demands  that  the  child  be  afforded  opportu- 
nity for  this  comparison — the  word  kindergarten 
tells  us  how  and  by  what  means,  if  we  reflect  upon 
its  application — in  the  garden  of  the  children. 
The  kindergarten,  the  completely  formed  idea,  the 
clearly  demonstrated  conception  of  a  kindergarten, 
thus  necessarily  requires  a  garden,  and  in  this, 
necessarily,  gardens  for  the  children.  Yet  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  requirement  to  connect  a  garden  of 
the  children  with  the  kindergarten  proceeds  not 
only  from  the  higher  reason  just  given,  but  also 
from  reasons  of  social  and  citizen  collective  life. 
The  human  being,  the  child,  as  a  part  of  human- 
ity must  even  early  not  only  be  recognized  and 
treated  as  individual  and  single,  thus  as  a  member 
of  a  greater  collective  life,  but  must  recognize  itself 
as  such  and  prove  itself  to  be  such  by  its  action. 
But  this  reciprocal  activity  between  one  and  a  few, 
a  part  and  a  whole,  is  nowhere  more  beautifully, 
vividly,  and  definitely  expressed  than  in  the  as- 
sociated cultivation  of  plants,  the  common  care 
of  a  garden,  in  which  the  relation  of  the  gen- 
eral to  the  particular  is  clearly  shown.  This  is  a 
so-called  house  garden,  but  one  in  which  each  child 
has  its  place  in  its  own  little  garden.  But  here 
in  the  children's  garden  of  the  kindergarten,  where 
there  are  many  children,  and  where  they  and  their 
gardens  form  the  principal  fact,  the  arrangement 


CHILDREN'S  GARDENS.  219 

must  be  somewhat  altered.  Here  the  gardens  and 
respective  beds  of  the  children  must  be  surrounded 
by  the  garden  of  the  whole,  as  the  particular  al- 
ways rests  protected  in  the  general,  and  the  general 
protectingly  surrounds  the  particular. 

But  this  garden  of  the  children,  besides  its  gen- 
eral aim  of  representing  the  relation  of  the  particu- 
lar to  the  general,  of  the  part  to  the  whole,  of  the 
child  to  the  family,  of  the  citizen  to  the  com- 
munity, has  to  be  in  essentials  not  merely  develop- 
ing, educating,  and  instructive  about  relations,  but 
also  about  things,  and  here  especially  about  plants. 
But  this  is  effected  for  the  child  in  that  he  is  sum- 
moned to  comparison,  and  is  again  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  objects,  here  the  plants,  stand  by  one 
another  for  comparison. 

In  accordance  with  these  ideas  the  following 
is  submitted  and  stated  for  the  arrangement  of  the 
ground,  or  the  place  for  the  children's  garden  in 
the  kindergarten: 

I.  The  total  space  of  the  children's  garden  has 
the  form  of  a  rectangle  as  the  most  suitable  one. 
Other  simple  forms,  circles  and  ovals,  are  not  ex- 
cluded, although  they  do  not  seem  to  correspond 
to  the  object  of  the  whole,  especially  with  many 
children,  so  well  as  the  rectangle. 

II.  This  whole  space  must  now  be  divided  into 
two  parts — into  the  part  for  the  general  and  into 
the  part  for  the  particular  (that  is,  for  the  chil- 


220  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

dren),  or,  in  other  words,  into  the  part  for  the 
whole  and  that  for  the  individual  members  (that  is, 
again,  for  the  children). 

III.  The  part  for  the  general  is  the  inclosing, 
as  it  were,  the  protecting  part;  that  for  the  chil- 
dren, the  inclosed,  protected  part. 

IV.  The  children  can  not  be  and  should  by  no 
means  be  introduced  by  this  garden  into  the  to- 
tality of  the  vegetable  world,  but  only  into  the 
part  which  most  closely  touches  human  needs,  thus 
into  the  field  plants  and  those  of  the  garden  in 
a  more  limited  sense;  and  therefore  the  general 
land  should  be  divided  into  garden  and  field  land. 

V.  But  the  garden  land  divides  again  into  the 
flower  and  vegetable  garden. 

VI.  The  arable  land  is  for  the  oil  plants,  corn, 
leguminous  plants,  bulbous  plants,  turnips  and  cab- 
bages, finally  plants  for  fodder. 

VII.  According  to  the  quantity  of  land,  larger 
pieces  may  be  given  to  the  children  for  their  little 
gardens,  and  even  a  piece  of  garden  land  to  each 
child  alone.  But  if  the  children  are  many  and  the 
space  limited,  then  the  space  for  each  individual 
must  be  circumscribed,  or  even  a  smaller  piece  may 
be  given  to  two  children  together.  This  connec- 
tion of  twos  in  the  kindergarten  has  something  good 
in  it — it  teaches  friendliness,  and  each  child  is  so 
much  the  richer  for  what  the  other  puts  in  the  bed. 

Where  there  is  enough  land  each  child  may  be 


CHILDREN'S  GARDENS.  221 

given  four  square  feet  in  the  form  of  a  square; 
where  there  is  less  land,  six  square  feet,  in  the  form 
of  an  oblong,  may  be  given  to  two  children  to- 
gether. Where,  however,  the  number  of  the  chil- 
dren is  large  and  the  land  small,  two  children  must 
be  content  with  four  square  feet. 

VIII.  The  paths  which  divide  and  again  com- 
bine the  whole  are  either  the  principal  paths  or 
cross  paths  (between  the  single  beds);  the  latter 
may  be  one  foot  wide.  But  it  is  a  good  plan  to 
make  the  principal  paths,  if  possible,  at  least  two 
and  one  half  feet  wide,  so  that  two  children  may 
walk  in  them  side  by  side. 

This  must  suffice  for  the  division  and  use  of  the 
land  in  the  general.  In  the  particular  the  follow- 
ing is  yet  to  be  remarked: 

In  their  own  little  beds  the  children  can  plant 
what  and  how  they  will,  also  deal  with  the  plants 
as  they  will,  that  they  may  learn  from  their  own 
injudicious  treatment  that  plants  also  can  not  grow 
well  unless  they  are  treated  carefully  according  to 
laws.  This  will  be  shown  to  them  by  the  plants 
in  the  common  bed,  which  they  must  observe  care- 
fully, so  that  they  may  calmly  notice  them  in  their 
development  from  the  seed  through  the  germinat- 
ing, growing,  blossoming,  and  fructifying  to  the 
seed  again. 

In  sowing  or  planting  this  common  bed  the 
different  seeds  of  the  plants  should  be  shown  to  the 


222  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

children  for  comparison  and  placed  by  one  another, 
and  the  points  of  resemblance  and  difference  should 
be  sought  out,  so  that  the  child  may  be  able  to 
name  the  different  plants  and  to  distinguish  their 
seeds  from  one  another.  In  the  summer  and  fall, 
after  the  seeds  have  ripened,  they  should  be  gath- 
ered and  kept  for  use  in  winter  (about  which  more 
will  be  said  in  a  later  article  on  winter  employ- 
ments in  the  kindergarten)  and  for  replanting  in 
spring.  When  it  is  possible  the  seeds  should  be 
kept  in  little  paper  boxes  which  have  been  previous- 
ly made  by  the  children  themselves.  (More  will 
be  said  of  this  in  the  articles  about  the  employ- 
ments of  children  in  general  and  in  particular.) 

The  plants  set  out  in  the  gardens  should  be 
compared  in  the  same  way.  Each  child  should 
have  the  care  of  keeping  its  own  bed  in  order;  the 
common  beds  should  be  cared  for  by  all  together, 
or  by  several  children  at  the  same  time  on  alternate 
days  (for  instance,  on  "Wednesday  and  Saturday 
afternoons). 

In  order  that  the  children  may  be  aware  of  the 
name  of  the  plant  while  looking  at  and  examining 
it,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  place  by  the  side  of  each 
kind  of  plant  the  name  (formed  by  sticks)  which 
can  be  easily  read  by  children  whose  plays  and 
employments  have  made  them  conversant  with  the 
stick  forms;  besides,  the  children  thus  obtain  a 
clear  view  of  and  complete  insight  into  the  whole. 


CHILDREN'S  GARDENS.  223 

Just  so  manifold  are  the  results  when  the  bed 
of  each  child  is  indicated  by  its  name  in  the  man- 
ner before  given.  Each  child  immediately  finds 
out  the  bed  of  his  friend  and  himself  receives, 
through  the  name  standing  by  his  bed,  the  merited 
silent  praise  or  blame  according  as  he  has  been 
careless  or  careful. 

Besides,  the  child  as  yet  unskilled  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  letters  and  of  reading  is  thereby  exercised 
in  both,  since  he  tries  to  find  out  the  names  from 
the  signs. 

Finally,  and  lastly,  the  child  receives  through 
all,  as  was  already  mentioned  above  in  a  more  lim- 
ited sense,  a  complete  view  of  and  clear  insight 
into  the  whole,  by  which  the  memory  especially  is 
strengthened,  the  memory  of  places,  things,  names, 
and  qualities,  as  well  as  the  memory  of  time,  by 
the  differing  stages  of  development  of  the  plants, 
and  by  the  tending  of  them. 

All  this,  however,  by  no  means  exhausts  the 
significance  and  influence  of  the  garden  on  the 
children.  As  the  child  finds  in  it  an  image  of  the 
true  family  life,  of  the  genuine  common  life 
(where  the  whole  and  general  protect  the  individ- 
ual and  particular,  and  the  latter  has  a  retroactive, 
beneficial  effect  on  the  former),  so  he  finds  in  each 
object  by  its  creation,  growth,  and  decay — that  is, 
its  development  from  the  unit  and  its  return  to  the 
representation  of  the  unit — an  image  or  type  of 


224  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

himself  which  leads  him  to  a  better  understanding, 
a  more  correct  comprehension  of  himself. 

It  is  an  incalculable  benefit  for  man  to  become 
early  familiar  with  the  course  and  the  stages  of 
his  development,  as  natural  as  they  are  general 
(even  if  it  be  only  in  dim  anticipation);  and  the 
boy  or  girl  can  early  attain  to  this  anticipation 
under  suitable  guidance  by  tending  the  little  gar- 
den, and  by  observing  the  tending  of  plants  by  in- 
telligent and  experienced  people. 

What  has  been  previously  said  will  serve  to  ex- 
plain the  accompanying  drawing  (seepage  226)  so 
far  as  it  concerns  the  representation  and  execution. 

The  garden  is,  according  to  circumstances,  cal- 
culated for  twelve  or  twenty-four  children.  Ac- 
cording as  the  number  of  beds  is  increased  in  the 
length  or  in  the  breadth  of  the  garden,  the  neces- 
sary number  of  beds  for  each  number  of  the  chil- 
dren can  be  obtained.  Here  a  bed  of  four  square 
feet  is  allowed  for  one  child  (or  two  children) — 
each  cross  path  is  to  be  one  foot  wide — each  of  the 
principal  paths  to  be  two  feet  wide.  The  width 
of  the  common  bed  which  surrounds  the  small  beds 
is  likewise  two  feet,  the  length  of  this  bed  being  di- 
vided into  equal  parts,  according  to  the  number  of 
the  fruits  and  plants  to  which  it  is  to  be  devoted; 
here  in  the  plan  one  foot  (long  or  running  meas- 
ure), and  therefore  two  square  feet  are  allowed  for 
each  kind  of  plant. 


CHILDREN'S  GARDENS.  225 

The  side  A  is  devoted  to  the  field  fruits;  the 
side  B  to  the  garden  plants.  The  sequence  of  the 
former  (A)  and  the  manner  in  which  the  plants  are 
grouped  for  the  purpose  of  comparison  are  given. 
The  sequence  and  the  order  in  which  the  garden 
plants  (B)  are  placed  side  by  side  for  comparison 
easily  result  from  the  former.  Since  it  is  only  too 
difficult,  alas,  to  find  with  the  kindergarten  a 
larger  place  for  the  gardens  or  beds  for  the  chil- 
dren, in  a  symmetrically  arranged  whole,  the  meas- 
ures, especially  the  width  of  the  paths,  are  here 
given  as  small  as  possible,  and  so  the  whole  garden 
is  only  twenty-five  feet  long  and  fourteen  wide. 
It  is,  however,  better  to  make  the  principal  paths 
at  least  two  and  one  half  feet  wide. 

Each  of  the  sticks  used  for  the  child's  name  is 
given  about  one  inch  and  a  half  for  its  usual 
width  and  about  the  same  in  length  (which,  how- 
ever, may  be  three  inches  longer,  according  to  cir- 
cumstances). In  the  same  manner  one  of  the 
sticks  used  for  the  name  of  a  plant  is  given  in  equal 
width,  though  not  so  long.  The  thickness  of  each 
stick  is  one  fourth  of  an  inch. 

There  must  be  as  many  of  these  sticks  as  there 
are  of  children  and  of  kinds  of  plants.  If  it  is 
desired  to  make  the  child  familiar  with  bushes  also, 
it  can  be  done  by  a  hedge  surrounding  the  whole. 

In  a  kindergarten  which  has  lasted  some  years 
the  seeds  of  natural  (wild)  plants  (grasses,  herbs, 


The  Garden  for  the  Children  is  the  Kindergarten, 


>i 


^"^^^ 


Kindergartner's  surname 


CHILDREN'S  GARDENS.  227 

etc.)  may  be  sown  in  the  third  or  fourth  year,  in- 
stead of  those  of  cultivated  ones,  thus  increasing 
the  child's  knowledge  of  I^ature  and  plants. 

As  the  seeds  and  plants  have  been  compared  by 
the  children  in  common,  the  seeds  should  be  sown 
and  the  plants  set  out  in  common  and,  as  it  were, 
festively.  In  order  yet  more  to  fix  this  impression 
and  expression,  the  kindergartner  accompanies  the 
planting  of  the  garden  with  an  appropriate  song: 

Let  us  to  the  garden  go,  ^^  _ 

All  our  little  seeds  to  sow ;  J^^^" 

Warm  air  through  the  vale  will  blow,   v   ^     tttTTISIT'^ 
Making  each  seed  sprout  and  grow,       I  ^  .  ^ 

Etc.  Ni£^CAHFOS^ 

So,  later,  when  the  seeds  have  germinated,  the 
plants  have  grown. 

In  the  garden  we  would  be, 
All  our  little  plants  to  see. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  say  a  word  more  about 
the  retroactive  effect  and  the  influence  of  such  fos- 
tering of  IsTature  and  plants  on  the  intellect  and 
knowledge,  as  well  as  on  the  spirit  and  on  the 
feeling,  indeed  on  the  whole  actual  and  creating 
life  of  the  child.  For  whoever  thus  stands  in  the 
midst  of  the  whole,  and  thus  grows  forth  in  and 
from  it,  must  well  comprehend  the  whole.  There- 
fore parents  who  possess  a  garden  should  never 
neglect  to  give  up  a  sufficient  space  to  their  child 
or  children  to  tend  and  cultivate  in  little  beds. 


228  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

They  will  thus  provide  for  the  children,  with  some 
plain,  judicious  guidance,  a  fount  of  inner  moral 
elevation  and  strengthening. 

Indeed  even  the  thoughtful  tending  of  a  little 
window  garden  or  a  flower  pot  is  for  the  child  a 
pure  fount  of  moral  improvement.  So  cultivating 
is  Nature  in  her  effects,  even  through  the  simplest 
plant,  for  him  who  early  opens  heart  and  sense  to 
her  beneficent  influences. 


VIII. 

PLAN    FOR    THE    TRAINING    SCHOOL    FOR    CHILDREN'S 
NURSES   AND    EDUCATORS. 

"  Kindergartens  "  are  the  surest  means,  the 
most  correct  way,  the  simplest  method  of  general 
elevation  and  ennobling,  clear  accomplishment  and 
beautiful  representation  of  genuine  family  life  in 
all  conditions  and  relations,  as  the  single,  true 
fount  of  contented  individual  life,  joyful  social 
life,  free  public  life,  and  united  life  of  humanity. 

Fr.  Froebel. 

§  1.  Aim  of  the  Institution. 

a.  In  General, 
The  aim  of  the  institution  is,  in  general,  to 
train  young  women  who  are  suited  for  such  work, 
to  tend,  develop,  and  educate  the  child  from  its 
birth  up  to  the  time  when  it  is  fully  prepared  to 
begin  its  school  life,  and  so  up  to  the  beginning  of 
the  instruction  of  the  school  properly  so  called.  Its 
design  is  thus  to  train  these  young  women  in  the 
union  of  the  home,  Nature,  the  school,  and  life  as 
a  whole  (necessarily  single  in  itself)  for  the  attain- 
ment of  the  educational  aim — comprehension,  de- 
17  229 


230  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

velopment  and  cultivation  of  man  (from  childhood 
up)  in  his  personal  individuality,  and  also  as  a 
member  of  the  great  life-whole. 

§  2.  Aim  of  the  Institution. 

h.  In  Particular. 

The  aim  of  education  designated  in  the  former 
section  can  be  attained  in  various  ways,  as  it  must 
be  continued  through  various  stages  of  develop- 
ment. These  various  ways  can  be  essentially  two- 
fold, either  the  domestic  family  education  (com- 
plete in  itself)  or  the  education  in  common  in  child 
circles  and  child  unions  (as  one  trains  plants  alone 
and  singly  in  a  room  or  in  full  life  union  with 
other  plants  in  a  garden),  therefore  the  aim  of  this 
educational  institution  is  also  necessarily  a  mani- 
fold one,  either: 

I.  The  training  of  women  as  educational  help- 
ers for  the  house  and  family  merely;  and  here 
again  either: 

1.  First  of  all,  only  for  the  first  stage  of  the 
fostering  of  childhood,  the  training  of  nursery 
maids  and  nurses;  or 

2.  Up  to  the  completely  developed  capacitj^  for 
school,  indeed  up  to  the  beginning  of  real  school 
instruction,  the  training  of  directors  and  educators 
of  children  for  the  family;  or,  finally: 

II.  The  training  of  directors  and  educators  of 


NURSES'  TRAINING  SCHOOL.  231 

whole  circles  of  children  and  child  unions,  as  it 
were,  true  kindergartens  (as  one  has  flower  gardens 
and  tree  gardens  in  which,  as  here,  the  flowers  and 
trees,  so  there  the  children  are  the  exclusive  objects 
of  consideration  and  fostering,  of  common  devel- 
opment and  education  in  the  coherence  of  Nature 
and  life),  thus  for  kindergartners. 

§  3.  Forming  Plays  for  the    Designated  Aim. 

The  stated  circles  of  educational  operations 
jointly  rest  on  the  same  foundation  and  are  derived 
from  the  same  source.  Each  one  includes  the 
knowledge  and  training  of  the  others,  only  with 
greater  or  less  conspicuousness  and  expansion  of  its 
own  peculiar  requirements.  So  the  training  of 
nursery  maids  and  nurses  (or  rather,  as  they  should 
be  called,  child  fosterers  and  educational  helpers) 
differs  from  that  of  the  child  directors  and  child 
educators,  properly  so-called,  merely  in  this,  that 
the  training  of  the  first  aims  more  at  mere  practice 
and  knowledge  of  the  particulars  and  their  true 
application,  while  the  training  of  the  second  has  in 
view  more  the  insight  into  and  the  survey  over  the 
whole,  and  not  only  the  freer  appropriation  result- 
ing from  these,  but  also  the  later  fulfillment  of  the 
vocation,  more  full  of  life,  and  more  freely  active. 
Therefore  the  training  for  both  aims  of  cultivation 
can  go  on  in  this  institution  in  certain  respects 
side  by  side. 


232  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

§  4.  Age  of  Those  who  Enter. 

A  full-grown,  healthy,  and  vigorous  body  fits 
those  of  from  upward  of  fifteen  to  twenty  years  to 
be  trained  for  the  more  limited,  first  vocation  of 
child  fosterers. 

For  the  training  for  the  more  extended  second 
vocation,  as  child  directors  and  kindergartners,  in 
general  as  child  educators,  the  most  suitable  age 
is  from  seventeen  to  twenty  years,  in  proportion 
to  the  degree  of  love  of  and  kindness  toward  chil- 
dren, love  and  capacity  for  playful  employment 
with  children,  and  for  the  animated,  joyous,  and 
peaceful  view  of  the  world  which  they  have  at- 
tained. Yet,  under  the  above-named  conditions 
(which  are  indeed  at  times  fulfilled  in  yet  earlier 
years)  older  persons  are  not  excluded  from  en- 
trance into  the  training  institution. 

§  5.  Stage  of  Cultivation  of  Those  who  Enter. 

Besides  the  already  named  conditions  for  the 
choice  of  this  vocation — love  for  children,  capacity 
and  disposition  for  play  and  employment  with 
them,  purity  of  character,  consequently  sense  and 
modesty — a  womanly  religious  feeling  of  union 
with  God,  and  a  liking  and  capacity  for  singing, 
are  indispensably  requisite.  The  knowledge  and 
dexterity  which  a  good  public  school  and  girls' 
school  give  are  also  needed,  especially  by  those 


NURSES'  TRAINING  SCHOOL.  233 

who  wish  to  cultivate  themselves  for  child  directors 
and  kindergartners — in  fine,  as  educators.  Should 
the  knowledge  be  more  extended,  so  much  the 
greater  is  its  use  for  the  future  efficiency — also 
more  extended — of  those  who  enter. 

§   6.    DURATI0]\^    OF    THE    TRAINING    CoURSE. 

Time  and  need  press  urgently,  and  the  pecun- 
iary means  are  usually  insufficient  to  defray  the 
cost  of  a  longer  training.  So  fully  twenty-six 
weeks  are  fixed  upon  for  the  first  course  of  training. 
On  account  of  the  infiexible  demand  of  circum- 
stances which  I  have  just  mentioned,  this  course 
must  usually  suffice  for  the  acquirement  of  the 
most  necessary  training,  as  it  can  not  be  pursued 
further.  Of  course  much  might  be  compressed 
into  the  twenty-six  weeks,  and  unremitting  dili- 
gence, strenuous  employment  of  the  time,  and  some 
favoring  preparation  of  the  subject  beforehand  are 
needed  to  reach  the  goal.  It  has,  however,  been 
completely  reached  by  several  students. 

§  7.  The  Attainment  of  the  Aim  of  Cultivation. 

The  attainment  of  the  aim  of  cultivation  indi- 
cated in  §  3  (beyond  the  wise  employment  of  the 
time  required  in  the  former  section)  depends  espe- 
cially on  the  students'  correct  comprehension  of  the 
impulses  (to  activity  and  employment)  of  their 
own  lives,  and  of  their  laws,  as  well  as,  later,  on 


234  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  consideration  and  fostering  of  such  impulses 
and  of  their  laws  of  development  in  the  child.  The 
inevitable  condition  of  the  attainment  of  the  aim  of 
cultivation  designated  in  §  3  is  to  see  into  these  laws 
of  cultivation,  to  find  them  in  one's  0W7i  life,  as 
well  as  to  recognize  and  foster  them  in  the  life  of 
the  child,  or  at  least  to  faithfully  order  one's  life 
according  to  their  requirements,  as  they  make 
themselves  known  in  each  simple  womanly  mind. 

§  8.  Division  of  Time  during  the  Training 
Course. 

The  day  of  instruction  begins  at  seven  o'clock 
A.  M.  during  the  winter  half  year  for  the  partici- 
pants in  this  training  school,  as  well  as  for  those 
in  the  general  educational  institution.  At  this 
time  they  take  part  in  the  general  morning  prayer 
and  also,  immediately  afterward,  in  the  religious 
instruction  in  the  classes  on  that  subject  in  the  edu- 
cational institution.  They  do  this  in  order  to  ob- 
tain firm  religious  opinions  and  clear  insight  into 
the  nature  of  religion  and  its  development  in  man- 
kind, especially  at  the  stage  of  childhood.  They 
should  gain  such  insight  for  their  own  benefit  as 
well  as  for  later  use  with  those  confided  to  their 
fostering  care,  as  religion  is  the  only  sure,  satisfy- 
ing, vital  foundation  of  an  education  rich  in  re- 
sults and  blessings. 

From  8  to  9  o^clocTc. — Breakfast  and  free  time. 


NURSES'  TRAINING  SCHOOL.  235 

From  9  to  10  6^ clock. — Bringing  forward  and 
observing  the  phenomena  and  course  of  develop- 
ment, consequently  also  the  laws  of  development 
of  the  human  being  and  the  child;  reflecting  upon 
the  insight  into  the  being  and  nature  of  the  child 
proceeding  from  these,  and  the  demand  thereby  ex- 
pressed for  its  tending  and  education,  as  a  guiding 
thread  to  the  fulfillment  of  the  above-named  voca- 
tion— the  tending  and  education  of  children. 

From  10  to  12  o^cloch. — Acquirement  of  the 
before  recognized  means  of  setting  the  child  to 
work  and  developing  it,  especially  the  acquirement 
of  the  right  kind  of  intercourse,  the  suggestive 
talk  with  the  child,  learning  the  suggestive  child 
songs,  and  especially  the  means  of  corresponding 
training  of  the  limbs  and  senses  for  the  unfolding 
of  the  soul-life  in  the  child  as  a  whole  in  itself, 
and  also  as  a  part  of  the  whole  human  life.  The 
family  book  [Mother-Plays,  etc.]  of  Friedrich 
Froebel  serves  as  a  foundation. 

From  12  to  2  o^ clock. — Dinner,  freedom  of 
action,  free  employment  with  the  children  of  the 
family  circle,  and  the  reviewing  by  each  student 
of  what  has  been  before  learned. 

From  2  to  ^  o^clock. — ^Making  the  proper  ob- 
jects for  play  and  employment  and  the  proper 
means  for  the  developing  of  children,  by  education, 
for  future  reasonable  self-dependence.  Then  prac- 
tice with  these  objects  for  free  use  in  accordance 


236  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

with  the  various  gifts  of  Friedrich  Froebel's  play- 
whole;  with  essential  consideration  of  all  which 
Nature  and  life  offer — that  is,  observation  of  nat- 
ural objects  and  of  the  phenomena  of  life  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  various  stages  of  the  development 
of  childhood. 

From  If.  to  5  6^ dock, — Supper  and  free  time. 

From  5  to  6  6^ dock, — Taking  part  in  the  play- 
ful occupations  of  the  little  ones  in  the  united  edu- 
cating families  and  of  the  youngest  pupils  in  the 
general  educational  institution. 

From  6  to  7  o^dock. — Acquirement  of  pecul- 
iar little  manual  dexterities  which  constantly  de- 
velop themselves  from  the  above-named  play-whole, 
each  forming  in  itself  relatively  an  individual 
whole,  and  all  together  forming  a  coherent  whole 
for  the  children's  representing  employment  (on  the 
side  of  the  present  domestic  use,  and  later  of  that 
of  the  social,  as  on  the  side  of  the  formation  and 
cultivation  of  the  sense  of  beauty  and  also  of  the 
laws  of  thought  and  reason),  and  for  the  awaken- 
ing and  anticipation  of  the  inner  coherence  of  all 
manifoldness,  the  development  of  a  harmonious 
multiplicity  from  a  unity,  and  for  the  anticipation 
of  the  laws  of  development  in  Nature  and  life. 


NURSES'  TRAINING  SCHOOL.  237 

§  9.  A  Few  more  Essential  Peculiarities  and 
THE  Keystone  of  the  Training  Course. 

The  division  of  the  day  for  the  duration  of  the 
training  course  has  indeed  been  given  in  general  in 
the  preceding  section,  yet  it  should  be  understood 
that  even  the  advancing  season  effects  many  alter- 
ations in  it.  Thus,  for  example,  in  the  spring 
months  of  the  training  course  the  science  of  plants 
for  the  stage  of  the  development  of  childhood  is  en- 
tered upon  from  2  to  3  o'clock. 

There  also  intervenes  between  the  above-given- 
hours  of  instruction  the  execution  of  free  exercises 
of  the  body  and  the  practice  of  the  movement 
plays;  as  also,  twice  a  week  for  at  least  an  hour, 
such  plays  with  the  little  ones  of  the  educating 
circle,  and  also  twice  a  week  occupation  and  play 
with  the  children  in  the  school  of  our  pastoral  vil- 
lage of  Eichfeld.  As  thus  the  training  for  the 
fostering  and  education  of  children  embraces  all 
the  requirements  of  the  child  in  bodily  (dietetical) 
and  intellectual  (pedagogical)  respects,  so  does  it 
also  in  observation  of  all  the  directions  of  the 
various  inclinations  of  the  child,  quite  espe- 
cially for  the  elementary  preparation  for  the 
school  and  for  leading  the  child  into  that  prepara- 
tion. 

This  preparation  for  the  foundation  of  the 
school   instruction,   and  the  reference   to  it,   can, 


238  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

however,  be  only  briefly  indicated  in  the  first 
course,  owing  to  the  limited  time,  although  suffi- 
ciently for  a  further  individual  progressive  cultiva- 
tion of  the  students  through  their  ability  and  their 
own  judgment. 

Where  a  second  complete  course  is  possible,  an 
elementary  preparation  for  the  school  and  the  in- 
troduction into  the  first  educational  instruction  is 
exhaustively  given. 

In  this  training  course  for  harmonious,  total 
fostering  of  childhood,  as  already  indicated  in  sec- 
tions 1  and  8,  the  child  will  be  considered  and 
treated  in  its  individual  personality,  and  also  as  an 
essential  member  of  the  great  life-whole;  thus,  ac- 
cording to  its  nature,  as  a  part- whole.  Therefore 
one  of  the  principal  objects  of  the  training  school 
is  to  have  the  students  learn  to  clearly  know  and 
vividly  recognize  their  future  little  charges  as  they 
now  recognize  themselves  in  this  double  nature,  as 
wholes  and  yet  members,  in  order  thus  to  educate 
them  to  the  anticipation  of  the  belonging  together 
of  all  that  is  different,  the  union  of  all  that  is  sepa- 
rate, to  the  anticipation  of  the  invisible  and  spir- 
itual in  the  visible  and  corporeal;  of  the  abiding  in 
the  transitory;  of  the  good  even  in  the  evil ;  and  in 
this  way  to  train  them  to  the  consideration  and 
fostering  of  all  good  and  to  the  union  with  all  good 
in  life,  to  the  union  in  thought,  will,  and  deed  with 
Him  who  is  good  and  the  fount  of  all  good — with 


NURSES'  TRAINING  SCHOOL.  239 

God — thus  in  genuine  self -union  and  life-union,  up 
to  true  union  with  God. 


§  10.  Outside  Oonditions  of  Entrance. 

The  participants  in  a  training  course  can  either 
have  board  and  lodging  in  the  general  educational 
institution,  or  the  latter  in  certain  houses  in  the 
village  by  the  week,  in  which  case  —  dollars  are 
to  be  paid  weekly  to  the  above-named  educational 
institution.  The  students  themselves  provide  for 
bed,  washing,  light,  and  fuel,  as  well  as  for  the 
care  of  the  room.  Doing  the  washing  and  the  daily 
care  of  the  room  afford  practice  which  may  be  es- 
sential at  a  later  time,  but  the  washing  can  be 
cheaply  done  in  the  village. 

Or  the  students  can  procure  board  and  lodging 
from  the  inhabitants  of  the  place,  in  which  case 
the  compensation  amounts  to  about  half,  including 
light  and  fuel  in  the  common  sitting-room. 

One  half  dollar  should  be  paid  weekly  for  each 
person  for  the  whole  instruction,  so  that,  in  the  first 
case,  the  whole  course  will  amount  to  —  dollars  per 
month;  in  the  second  case  —  dollars  per  month. 

§  11.  Beginning  of  the  Course. 

It  is  best  for  the  training  course  to  begin  on 
the  first  of  December,  so  that  part  of  the  time  may 
fall  in  the  spring  months. 


24:0  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

§  12.  Concluding  Eemaeks. 

The  aim  of  this  institution  is  generalization  of 
an  education  corresponding  to  human  nature  and  to 
the  nature  of  the  child,  of  an  education  which  sat- 
isfies the  definite  requirements  of  the  stage  of  hu- 
man cultivation  which  has  been  attained  by  effort, 
and  especially  the  more  general  carrying  out  of  this 
education  in  families.  The  attainment  of  this 
aim  has  till  now  presented  many  difficulties  in  re- 
gard to  the  unavoidable  expenses  of  training  the 
students.  Therefore  unions  of  the  fathers  of  fami- 
lies and  other  persons  devoted  to  benevolent  and 
humane  objects,  who  recognize  the  comprehension 
of  childhood  and  the  aim  of  training  here  pre- 
sented as  founded  on  their  convictions,  are  invited 
on  the  ground  and  in  accordance  with  the  aims  of 
their  unions  to  make  it  one  of  their  objects  to  ob- 
viate these  difficulties  in  cases  where,  for  example, 
the  establishment  of  a  kindergarten  in  the  province 
of  their  union  is  concerned,  and  thus  to  promote 
the  efficiency  of  this  training  school;  since  all  that\ 
is  virtuous  and  good  can  be  attained  only  through 
an  education  true  to  IsTature  and  human  nature, 
thus  an  education  worthy  of  humanity,  consequent-/ 
ly  the  genuine  family  education. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  young  women  in  the 
before-mentioned  relations  and  of  the  above-men- 
tioned age  who  must  choose  a  suitable  means  of 


NURSES'  TRAINING   SCHOOL.  241 

securing  a  respectable  living,  and  also  those  who 
are  hindered  by  their  parents  or  by  their  position, 
are  invited  to  prove  whether  they  find  in  them- 
selves capacity  and  inclination  for  the  vocation  (so 
rich  in  blessing)  of  the  education  of  children  which 
is  here  presented;  whether  they  find  in  themselves 
firm  will,  perseverance,  and  capability  of  self-sacri- 
fice to  seek  out  the  right  way  and  confidently  to 
train  themselves  toward  the  fulfillment  of  this  vo- 
cation. . 

§  13.  Reference. 

All  those  who  wish  to  take  part  in  such  a 
training  course  for  themselves,  their  daughters, 
their  relations,  and  wards,  or  for  women  as  objects 
of  humane  assistance,  should  therefore  address  let- 
ters to  the  undersigned. 

Friedrich  Froebel, 

The  Training  School  for  Childreri's  Nurses  and  Educators, 
Keilhau,  near  Rudolstadt,  October,  1847. 


IX. 


address  delivered  in  the  presence  of  her  maj- 
esty the  queen  of  saxony,  in  dresden,  at 
the  tower  pavilion,  january  v,  1839. 

Noble  and  Honored  Hearers: 

In  Nature  as  in  life,  all  stands  in  constant, 
inner  coherence,  in  the  highest  vital  coherence 
which  leads  to  God,  indeed  even  unites  with  God. 
I  believe  that  this  highly  respected,  highly  hon- 
ored assembly  will  willingly  excuse  me  from  ad- 
ducing proofs  of  this,  and  so  much  the  more  will- 
ingly as  these  proofs  can  be  easily  produced  from 
every  point  of  view^,  in  every  direction,  and  in  every 
form,  and  can  be  demonstrated  by  the  facts  of  Na- 
ture and  life,  as  well  as  by  the  utterances  of  the 
wisest  men. 

In  Nature  all  is  intuition  and  life.  Every  phe- 
nomenon has  its  sufficient  foundation  and  its  neces- 
sary consequence.  Finally,  Nature  is  the  first  mani- 
festation of  God;  it  is  the  manifestation  of  God 
by  fact  and  deed.  Therefore  this  coherence  is  not 
only  deeply  grounded  and  true,  but  it  is  also 
equally  deeply  grounded  and  equally  true  that  to 
242 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  QUEEN.     243 

live  unrestrained  and  undisturbed  in  this  high  co- 
herence of  Nature  and  life  gives  to  each  created 
thing  in  its  degree  the  finest  fruits  of  life;  but  it 
gives  to  man  the  highest  goods  of  the  soul — seren- 
ity of  spirit,  peace  of  heart,  and  joyousness  of  life. 

Was  not  this  expressed  and  is  it  not  still  hourly 
expressed  to  us  by  Him  who  governs  life,  before 
whose  name  bow  the  hearts  and  spirits  of  those  who 
know  Him? 

Since  we  now  see  represented  in  ITature  for  us, 
actually  and  symbolically,  as  it  were,  those  highest 
ideas  of  life,  since  we  perceive  in  Nature  the  fruits 
which  are  the  sound  and  clear  and  complete  living 
expression  of  the  innermost,  even  manifestations  of 
the  highest  (as  the  holy  bards  of  ancient  times 
teach  us),  should  not  therefore  the  human  being, 
the  crown  of  creation,  also  strive  to  live  in  this 
high,  all-prospering  harmony  of  life  which  God 
himself  so  visibly  manifests  to  us  in  his  creation 
and  by  his  creation?  Should  now  we  adults,  we 
parents,  we  educators  and  teachers,  in  general  we 
fosterers  of  childhood  and  of  humanity  in  the  child 
— should,  in  short,  the  conscious  human  being,  to 
whom  it  is  indeed  for  himself  no  longer  wholly  pos- 
sible to  be  able  to  live  undisturbed  according  to 
the  high  coherence  of  Nature  and  life — should  we 
not  at  least  strive  not  only  to  lead  our  children, 
even  from  the  beginning  of  their  existence,  into 
Nature  and  life  in  accordance  with  this  all-har- 


244  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

^  monj  and  coherence^  but  to  make  it  perceptible 
to  and  recognizable  by  them? 

The  earnestness  of  this  life  question  to  which, 
highly  respected,  highly  honored  hearers,  I  could 
not  close  my  mind  and  spirit,  to  the  solution  of 
which,  therefore,  I  could  not  refuse  my  life  and 
strength,  is  the  cause  that  I  ventured  at  least  to 
strive  toward  this  solution. 

The  earnestness  and  high  importance  of  this 
life  question  caused  me  to  venture  to  obey  the  sum- 
mons to  lay  my  attempt  to  solve  this  problem  be- 
fore an  assembly,  in  every  respect  so  prominently 
distinguished,  for  their  examination.  I  beg,  there- 
fore, for  great  indulgence  and  considerate  judg- 
ment of  the  imperfection  with  which  I  am  now 
able  to  demonstrate  the  whole  in  word  and  deed. 

If  now  there  is  everywhere  in  Nature  and  life 
inwardly  united  coherence,  the  truth  of  which  has 
been  conceded  by  us  (or  at  least  assumed  to  be  con- 
ceded), each  individual  must  be  in  life  at  the  same 
time  a  whole  in  himself  and  a  part  of  a  whole — ^he 
must  be  a  part-whole.  The  expression  easily  ex- 
plains itself,  as  there  is  nothing  in  the  surrounding 
world,  and  especially  in  Nature,  which  does  not 
justify  this  expression,  which  does  not  illustrate  its 
truth. 

The  child  himself  is  such  a  part-whole  since  he 
unites  and  connects  father  and  mother,  the  human 
being  and  Nature,  the  human  being  and  God;  thus 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE   QUEEN.  245 

he  mediates  between  all  being  and  life,  even  in  its 
opposites,  and  therefore  it  is  easy  to  awaken  and 
foster  in  the  child  the  anticipation,  and,  finally,  the 
consciousness  of  the  unity  of  the  individual  life 
abiding  in  God. 

But  how  and  through  what  is  the  human  being 
to  rise,  as  a  child,  to  the  anticipation,  comprehen- 
sion, and  living  expression  of  this  inwardly  united 
coherence  and  harmony  of  life? 

First  of  all,  the  human  being,  even  from  his 
first  appearance  on  earth,  from  his  first  entrance 
into  the  family,  should  be  not  only  considered  and 
regarded,  but  also  tended  and  treated  in  all-united 
life  coherence  with  God,  Nature,  and  humanity, 
and  in  all  ways  as  a  part-whole. 

Every  error  in  regard  to  this  threefold  inner 
comprehension  of  the  child  and  human  being,  even 
though  it  be  but  slight,  injures  his  clear  unfolding 
and  disturbs  the  completeness  of  his  life  forma- 
tion. Therefore  this  triune  conception  of  the  child 
and  of  the  life  of  childhood  is  our  first  problem. 
Then,  secondly,  the  human  being,  even  as  a  child, 
is  to  be  led  to  the  anticipation  and  conception,  as 
well  as  to  the  self -demonstration  of  the  inward 
uniting  coherence,  so  that  he  is  led  to  observe,  con- 
ceive of,  and  treat  each  object  of  Nature  and  him- 
self first  of  all  as  a  part-whole  of  Nature. 

Therefore  the  real  starting  point,  the  sufficing 

foundation  of  all  development  is  to  retain  this  per- 

18 


246  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ception  of  ^^sTature  and  of  the  world  in  its  innermost 
essence  and  with  all  its  consequences.  But  since 
each  self -developing  being  and  life,  therefore  also 
the  life  of  the  child,  expresses  itself  in  and  by  activ- 
ity, we  have  thus,  noble  and  honored  hearers,  come 
to  the  point  from  which  I  Avould  like  to  begin  the 
education  of  the  child,  or  from  which,  in  my  opin- 
ion, a  satisfactory  education  of  the  human  being 
begins;  viz.,  from  the  correct  comprehension  and 
fostering  of  the  child's  life  and  of  his  impulse  to 
creative  activity  in  accordance  with  the  develop- 
ment of  Nature,  of  life,  and  of  the  world. 

But  all  activity  is  threefold,  or  expresses  itself 
in  a  threefold  action — in  development,  reception, 
and  the  union  of  both,  viz.,  comparison  and  forma- 
tion. This  threefold  activity  appears  in  all  which 
surrounds  the  child,  as,  for  example,  in  every  plant 
as  well  as  in  the  life  of  the  child  himself.  Thus 
the  life  of  the  child  also  must  be  comprehended  in 
this  triplicity  of  its  creative  activity,  and  must  be 
treated  according  to  it. 

The  human  being,  and  therefore  the  child,  is 
indeed  led  to  all  this  through  Nature  itself,  since 
there  is  nothing  in  Nature  which  does  not  lead 
from  every  point  to  God  as  well  as  to  man;  there 
is  nothing  in  it  (Nature)  which  is  not  a  part-whole, 
which  does  not  show  activity.  An  apple  on  a  tree 
is  an  example  of  this  fact.  It  is  a  whole,  since  a 
whole  tree  can  be  again  produced  from  it;  and  is 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  QUEEN.  247 

also  a  part  of  the  tree  and  of  Nature,  since  it  re- 
ceives its  juices  through  the  tree  and  can  actually 
develop  itself  into  a  tree,  only  in  coherence  with 
Nature. 

But  Nature  with  its  phenomena  is  at  once  too 
near  to  and  too  far  from  the  human  being,  and  there 
is  therefore  needed,  especially  for  the  child,  a  con- 
necting third  which,  as  it  were,  unites  in  itself  the 
properties  of  each  part-whole  of  Nature  and  the 
properties  of  the  child  as  a  part-whole  of  the  All- 
life,  and  yet  is  neither  of  the  two.  This  is  the 
ball.  For  since  the  connecting  third  can  be  nei- 
ther an  object  of  Nature  nor  the  child  or  hu- 
man being  himself,  it  must  necessarily  be,  on  the 
one  hand,  a  product  of  the  human  mind  (so  that 
the  human  being  may  be  assured  that  it  bears  his 
nature  in  itself),  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  must 
bear  in  itself  the  properties  of  Nature,  that  it  may 
be  the  mediator  for  Nature  and  for  each  part-whole 
of  Nature.  The  ball  fulfills  these  conditions,  since 
it  appears  as  a  self-centered  whole,  but  also  at  the 
same  time  as  striving  toward  a  higher  whole,  to- 
ward the  earth  and  its  center. 

It  is  also  the  ball  which  especially  corresponds 
to  the  life  of  the  child  and  his  activity,  in  which 
the  child  finds  the  self -centered  starting  point  and 
completely  satisfactory  expression  for  this  activity. 
As  the  ball  easily  develops  activity  from  itself,  it 
also  receives  into  itself  the  activity  of  the  child  and 


248  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

shows  both  what  is  received  and  what  developed 
in  an  externally  uniting  phenomenon. 

I  could  therefore  also  call  the  ball  the  repre- 
sentative for  all  which  exists,  and  this  designation 
or  view  can  not  only  be  most  completely  justi- 
fied, but  even  bears  within  itself  something  very 
developing  and  full  of  life.  And  so  the  phenom- 
enon of  the  ball,  as  connecting  the  human  being 
and  Nature  (and  first  of  all  the  child  and  Nature), 
has  its  foundation  in  a  higher  indispensable  require- 
ment, viz.,  that  the  human  being,  in  order  to  un- 
derstand Nature,  must  create  it  anew,  as  it  were,  in 
and  from  himself  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  himself. 
In  this  eft'ort  now  the  plays  entered  upon  by  me 
and  here  brought  forward  for  examination  have 
their  further  ground  as  means  of  introduction  into 
Nature  for  recognition  and  as  types  for  the  hu- 
man being,  first  of  all  for  the  child. 

But  everything  that  exists  like  the  man  and 
child  combines  and  unites  opposites  in  itself,  in- 
deed resolves  them  in  itself — for  example,  rest  and 
activity,  power  and  material,  etc. — so  it  is  also  with 
the  ball  even  in  its  outward  appearance,  since  the 
ball  (full  of  material)  immediately  requires  and 
demands  the  hollow  ball  in  the  surrounding  air  or 
the  surrounding  general  space. 

Through  all  this  the  ball  not  only  serves  as  an 
introduction  into  the  knowledge  of  the  most  gen- 
eral properties  of  natural  objects,  but  also  into  the 


ADDEESS  BEFORE  THE  QUEEN.     249 

knowledge  of  Nature  and  of  the  essence  of  Nature, 
and  leads  as  well  to  the  knowledge  of  the  human 
being  in  his  outward  appearance  as  to  the  insight 
into  his  inner  nature  and  into  the  unity  of  that  na- 
ture, thus  leading  to  the  observance  of  its  require- 
ments. Therefore  the  ball  is  a  mirror  of  all,  and 
of  the  life  in  all,  of  the  general  as  of  the  particular, 
and  of  the  human  being  who  receives  both  into 
himself. 

To  have  intimated  this  about  the  ball  and  its 
nature  as  the  first  plaything  of  the  child  must  now 
suffice  for  me,  since  I,  noble  and  honored  hearers, 
have  been  obliged  already  longer  than  I  desired  to 
direct  your  attention  to  this  object  in  order  not 
only  to  justify  the  starting  from  the  ball,  but  also 
to  bring  it  out  clearly.  For  if  we  are  united  about 
the  first  point  and  the  first  means  of  the  fostering 
and  development  of  the  life  of  the  child  we  shall 
go  on,  I  hope,  like  the  skipper  on  the  open  sea 
when  he  has  found  the  power  or  force  pointing 
toward  a  unity — the  compass. 

But  in  Nature  the  outer  proceeds  from  the 
inner,  the  special  and  particular  from  the  general 
and  united,  etc.,  by  means  of  the  opposite;  the  in- 
flexible from  the  movable,  the  manifold  and  com- 
posite from  the  simple  and  whole.  So  also  repre- 
senting all  this,  the  inflexible  sphere  and  the  com- 
posite cube  come  forth  from  the  soft  and  simple 
ball.     Therefore  the  sphere  and  cube  are  the  next 


250  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

playthings,  or  ratlier  the  next  suitable  means  of 
employment  of  the  child.  But  in  the  sphere,  al- 
though solid,  becomes  yet  more  precisely  prominent 
the  easy  mobility  of  the  ball,  as  in  the  cube  the 
manifoldness  resting  in  the  ball,  of  which  I  shall 
only  permit  myself  to  mention  the  most  striking 
phenomena.  I  must  wholly  set  aside,  for  want  of 
time,  the  especial  consideration  of  the  sphere  in 
contrast  with  the  ball,  since  the  phenomena  of  the 
sphere  are  only  the  sharper  and  more  perfected 
phenomena  of  the  ball,  on  account  of  the  greater 
weight  and  hardness  of  the  sphere. 

In  the  sphere,  as  in  the  ball,  in  whatever  posi- 
tion they  may  be,  are  to  be  distinguished  three  prin- 
cipal directions  always  at  right  angles  to  each  other, 
conditioned  by  the  lower,  upper,  and  middle  points. 
These  three  principal  directions  are  in  many  ways 
the  key  to  recognition,  comprehension,  and  repre- 
sentation of  every  form  and  figure,  of  every  size 
and  number,  even  of  life  in  its  intellectual  phe- 
nomena. It  must  not,  therefore,  remain  unnoticed 
that  as  we  perceive  in  each  object  three  activities — 
the  developing,  the  receiving,  and  the  comparing — 
so  also  the  principal  direction,  even  in  the  ball, 
is  determined  by  three  points,  and  the  principal 
directions  in  the  ball,  in  the  sphere,  and  in  the  cube 
are  again  necessarily  represented  by  three.  The 
importance  of  this  observation  of  a  constantly  un- 
divided, coherent  three  will  come  up  to  us,  from 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  QUEEN.     251 

this  point  on,  more  and  more  full  of  life,  and  will 
faithfully  conduct  us  to  our  goal,  as  that  perception, 
deeply  grounded  in  the  most  secret  innermost  na- 
ture of  things,  faithfully  shows,  even  to  the  child, 
the  way  to  fulfill  many  of  the  requirements  which 
life  makes. 

In  the  cube  each  end  of  the  three  principal  di- 
rections appears  extended  to  a  surface,  since  each 
of  the  principal  directions  comes  forward  externally 
four  times  as  four  edges,  whereby  the  cube  shows 
three  times  four  parallel  edges.  And  so  six  sur- 
faces of  the  cube,  each  two  of  which  are  parallel 
to  one  another,  appear  as  postulated  in  its  interior 
as  well  as  in  the  inside  of  the  sphere  and  of  the 
ball.  We  must  here  postpone  a  particular  refer- 
ence to  the  manner  in  which,  on  the  contrary,  the 
phenomenon  of  the  eight  corners  of  the  cube  is  pre- 
supposed in  the  inside  of  it  and  also  in  the  inside  of 
the  sphere  and  of  the  ball.  It  is  only  important  to 
us  at  present  to  give  further  prominence  to  the  fact 
that  in  the  sphere  and  ball  all  directions  show  them- 
selves as  different  only  in  position,  but  alike  in 
size.  In  the  cube,  on  the  contrary,  these  directions 
(which  in  the  sphere  only  differ  in  position)  show 
also  the  difference  in  size.  They  first  of  all  show 
themselves  as  directions  from  one  surface  to  an- 
other (surface  directions),  as  directions  from  one 
edge  to  another  (edge  directions),  and  as  direc- 
tions from  one  corner  to  another  (corner  directions). 


252  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

If  we  now  look  at  this  thoughtfully  and  scrutiniz- 
ingly  we  must  recognize  that  the  cube,  first  of  all, 
makes  its  inner  nature  externally  visible;  and,  sec- 
ond, which  is  yet  more  remarkable,  leads  to  the  per- 
ception and  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  outside 
of  the  sphere  is  only  the  representation  (manifesta- 
tion) of  the  inside.  A  special  mention  of  the  man- 
ner of  making  this  perceptible  must  also  be  post- 
poned. Only  the  great  law  of  Nature  and  life 
thus  made  known — to  make  the  internal  external, 
to  make  the  external  internal,  and  to  place  both  in 
uniting  comparison — this  greatest  and  first  (and  yet 
simplest  and  most  extended)  law  of  If ature,  life,  and 
education,  must  not  remain  unexpressed.  It  is  the 
more  important  to  express  this  law  as  it  thus  be- 
comes clearly  perceptible  how  the  kinds  of  employ- 
ment entered  upon  by  these  plays  not  only  lead 
to  a  notice  of  the  laws  of  If  ature,  but  bring  them 
near  to  the  comprehension  and  penetration  of  the 
human  being,  even  as  a  child,  and  so  to  their  ap- 
plication in  his  individual  life.  For  we  ask.  What 
is  the  highest  aim  of  man's  activity  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  end,  or  at  least  what  should  it  be? 
Can  we  give  any  other  answer  than  to  make  known 
the  unity  of  all  life,  goodness  itself,  God,  through 
all  which  he  creates  from  himself;  to  recognize  the 
unity  of  all  life,  goodness  itself,  God,  in  all  which 
surrounds  and  therefore  acts  upon  man,  and  thus 
above  all  in  Nature;  and  comparing  both  to  per- 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  QUEEN.  253 

ceive  the  one  divine  life,  the  unity  in  the  workings 
of  God,  and,  lastly,  goodness  itself  everywhere  in 
the  universe,  in  life,  and  in  Nature? 

To  this  now  I  would  guide  even  the  little  child 
(constantly  bearing  in  mind  the  expression  "  one  ") 
in  his  first  free  action,  in  his  play,  unconsciously 
to  himself,  and  indeed  wordlessly,  through  the  con- 
templation of  object  and  action. 

It  has  been  already  recognized  that  the  ball  is 
the  means  of  introduction  into  that  which  is  gen- 
eral— first  of  all  into  that  which  is  general  in  Na- 
ture. It  must  now  be  stated  that  the  cube  is  the 
means  of  perception  of  and  introduction  into  that 
which  is  particular  in  Nature,  and  also  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  life  of  man  and  of  the  child. 

A  slight  indication  must  sufiice  for  the  cube 
on  each  of  these  two  sides.  On  the  first,  the  side 
of  Nature,  this  is  thus  shown : 

Where  the  directions  of  surface  are  equally 
formed  we  find  all  the  fixed  forms  which  belong 
to  the  spherical,  cubical  formation,  to  the  tessular 
system  in  mineralogy,  as  in  the  noble  metals. 
Where  the  edge  directions  appear  to  define  it  we 
find  the  two-and-two-sided  formation  of  the  fixed 
shapes — e,  g.,  in  the  feldspar;  and  where  the  corner 
directions  determine  the  formation,  the  three-and- 
three-membered  system  enters,  as  in  the  quartz. 

In  this  there  may  at  the  same  time  lie  an  indica- 
tion of  how  the  child  fostering  for  which  we  strive 


254  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

is  at  the  same  time  also  the  genuine  representation 
of  comprehensive  and  impressive  knowledge  of  Isa- 
ture,  and  that  the  child  therefore  most  thankfully 
recognizes  a  fostering  of  childhood  in  accordance 
with  I^ature  when  this  kind  fostering  is  also  be- 
stowed upon  the  natural  sciences,  since  the  child 
feels  his  relation  to  Nature  in  her  innermost  striv- 
ingSj  and  so  enjoys  that  fostering,  although  not  ar- 
bitrarily and  accidentally. 

In  reference  to  life,  the  fact  appears  that  in  all 
changes  of  the  phenomena,  the  fountain  and  union 
of  them,  as  well  as  their  outer  and  inner  coherence, 
should  be  retained  for  recognition  and  exercise. 
For  the  penetrating,  thorough  consideration  of  Na- 
ture leads  the  whole  human  race,  as  well  as  the 
individual  man,  always  to  God,  as  the  divine 
teacher  and  educator  of  humanity  himself  says ;  and 
therefore  the  deeply  penetrating  consideration  of 
Nature  in  reference  to  man's  heart  and  soul,  mind 
and  life,  becomes  a  sacred  duty  to  his  disciples  and 
followers.  Finally,  who  does  not  know,  indeed 
what  truly  cultivated  person  doubts  at  the  present 
time,  that  the  thoughtful  consideration  of  Nature 
has  or  should  have  a  like  aim  with  genuine  child 
fostering,  the  aim  which  is  given  to  the  human  be- 
ing with  his  life,  to  recognize  the  fountain  of  all 
life,  and,  as  we  live  through  it,  to  live  in  and 
with  it. 

The  sphere  and  cube  will  thus  be  given  to  the 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  QUEEN.     255 

child,  and  therefore  in  general  to  the  human  being, 
as  the  next  plaything,  or  as  the  following  means 
of  employment,  that  he  may  be  introduced  into  the 
manifoldness  of  Nature,  of  his  own  life,  and  of 
all  life;  and  also  at  the  same  time  that  he  may 
comprehend  the  inner  and  outer  coherence  of  the 
two,  and  the  unity  in  all  manifoldness  of  each  by 
the  changes  of  the  phenomena,  and  retain  it  that 
he  may  not  be  wrecked  therein. 

But  I  must  hasten  to  my  goal,  however  will- 
ingly I  would  still  extend  further  my  observations 
about  each  of  these  subjects,  since  I  esteem  them 
important  for  the  life-fostering  of  the  child  and  for 
the  attainment  of  his  future  inner  and  outer  peace 
of  life. 

As  the  unity  of  the  ball  requires  manifoldness, 
especially  the  manifoldness  of  the  cube  and  also  of 
the  sphere,  as  I  have  pointed  out,  so  now  further  in- 
divisibility requires  the  divided,  the  single  requires 
separation.  Each  child  shows  us  this,  for  he 
tries  to  divide  everything;  at  least  he  brings  each 
thing  to  his  mouth  in  order  to  bite  into  it,  although 
he  is  as  yet  unable  to  bite  off  a  piece  of  it.  This, 
however,  by  no  means  sets  aside  the  fact  that  this 
phenomenon  may  have  and  actually  has  other 
causes.  It  is  enough  that  we  all  know  the  child's 
desire  to  take  things  to  pieces,  which,  if  not  suffi- 
ciently noticed  in  bringing  him  up,  becomes  a  dis- 
position to  destroy. 


256  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  next  plaything  for  the  child  must  there- 
fore be  a  divided  simple  body.  This  body  must  be 
divided  in  the  smallest  and  slightest  way,  and  yet 
on  all  sides.  Such  is  the  cube  once  divided  on 
each  side,  through  the  middle  and  parallel  to  its 
surfaces,  thus  separating  the  principal  cube  into 
eight  part-cubes  similar  to  it,  and  exactly  like  each 
other. 

Permit  me  one  glance  at  our  words,  which  are 
so  full  of  meaning.  On  account  of  their  impor- 
tance, special  attention  (Acht)  must  be  given  to  the 
eight  (acht)  equal  part-cubes  (similar  in  form  to  the 
principal  cube),  because  what  the  principal  cube 
shows  once  the  eight  part-cubes  together  make 
known  eight  (acht)  times. 

The  division  of  the  cube  once  on  each  side,  or, 
in  other  words,  its  division  on  all  sides,  necessitates 
the  remark  that  the  opposites,  which  are  in  this  case 
one  side  and  all  sides,  must  always  appear  united, 
and  the  one-sided  should  no  sooner  be  seized  upon 
than  it  is  again  recognized  necessarily  as  a  member, 
as  an  indispensably  essential  development  of  all-sid- 
edness. 

But  now,  how  and  through  what  does  the  once 
divided  cube  correspond  to  the  nature  of  the  child 
and  satisfy  his  impulse  to  activity? 

For  application  in  life,  especially  in  educational 
life,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  tendency  of  the  in- 
telligence, proceeding  from  the  first  contemplation, 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  QUEEN.  257 

is  to  separate;  as  the  tendency  of  the  heart,  pro- 
ceeding from  the  same  contemplation,  is  to  unite. 
This,  however,  does  not  deny,  but  rather  proceeds 
necessarily  from  the  fact  that  they,  especially  in 
later  life,  exchange  their  roles  and  effects,  so  that 
what  was  before  separating  becomes  uniting,  and 
what  was  before  uniting  becomes  separating.  But 
this  is  here  no  further  carried  out,  yet  should  be  at 
least  touched  upon  in  order  to  avoid  unnecessary 
objection.  As  now  the  intelligence  separates  and 
the  intellect  unites,  practical  life  demands  the 
form,  and  this  is  furnished  by  the  cube  thus  di- 
vided. 

So  now  the  third  play,  which  legitimately  de- 
velops before  our  eyes,  gives  the  possibility,  in- 
deed the  necessity,  of  comprehending  the  child  and 
the  human  being,  by  means  of  it,  in  the  triplicity 
of  his  nature  as  a  feeling  and  experiencing,  as  a 
thinking  and  recognizing,  as  a  creating  and  form- 
ing being. 

And  so  the  play-forms  which  can  be  represented 
by  it,  or  the  results  of  the  tendency  to  activity  fos- 
tered in  the  child,  are  either  forms  of  knowledge, 
of  truth,  of  thought  (often  the  child  also  briefly 
names  them  in  his  play,  learning  forms),  such  as 
f ,  f,  f ;  or  forms  of  feeling,  of  beauty,  of  the  heart 
(the  child  also  well  names  them,  picture-forms) ;  or 
forms  of  use,  of  life  (the  child  also  well  names 
them,    object-forms).      As    this    exposition    corre- 


258  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

sponds  to  the  nature  of  the  human  being,  of  the 
child,  so  it  corresponds  to  the  phenomena  of  Na- 
ture, where  appears  first  the  thing  and  the  object 
in  general,  then  the  object  in  reference  to  unity  and 
beauty  (as,  for  example,  in  the  leaf  and  blossom 
forms),  finally  according  to  the  laws  which  govern 
the  organization  of  parts  (measure  and  number, 
etc.).  It  must  yet  be  remarked  about  these  repre- 
sentations that  a  whole — that  is,  a  divided  cube — 
always  serves  for  each  of  them;  a  similar  law  is 
also  expressed  in  Nature. 

But  I  must  hasten  on,  since  the  briefest  repre- 
sentation of  this  subject  alone  would  fill  up  the 
hour. 

It  can  not  escape  notice  that  each  successive  de- 
velopment must  be  already  founded  in  the  previous 
one,  as  this  is  a  law  of  progression  and  development 
in  Nature  as  well  as  generally  in  life.  This  is  also 
an  essential  law  of  these  plays,  as  a  means  of  devel- 
opment for  children.  So  the  three  principal  per- 
pendicular ^  directions  of  the  cube  appear  even  in 
the  sphere;  here,  however,  as  changing;  there  as 
abiding,  etc. 

These  three  principal  directions,  although  ap- 
pearing permanently  fixed  in  the  cube,  show  them- 
selves to  be  of  equal  value — that  is,  each  of  the 
directions  can  be  put  in  the  place  of  the  other. 

*  The  word  is  here  used  in  its  geometrical  sense. — Tr. 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  QUEEN.  259 

If  now  any  one  of  these  directions  is  given — for  ex- 
ample, as  the  direction  of  height — the  two  others  are 
necessarily  determined  as  directions  of  length  and 
breadth.  But  the  constant  all-sided  development 
of  the  child,  as  well  as  the  introduction  into  the 
many-sidedness  and  all-sidedness  of  life  formation, 
requires  that  with  all  changes  of  position  these 
three  different  directions  should  appear  fixed,  con- 
stantly different  in  themselves  from  one  another, 
yet  each  always  the  same. 

Now,  how  is  this  to  be  obtained?  Simply  by 
carrying  the  dividing  cut  in  the  third  division 
through  the  middle  of  each  column,  parallel  to  the 
two  side  surfaces,  instead  of  through  the  middle  of 
each  column  parallel  to  the  top  surface.  The  neces- 
sary result  of  this  is  the  building-stone  form,  which 
is  important  for  the  forming  life,  especially  for 
architectural  life.  The  whole  principal  cube  which 
before  separated  into  eight  cubes  is  now  in  this  way 
divided  into  eight  building  stones,  also  well  named 
by  the  children  building  blocks. 

We  see  here  again,  according  to  a  clearly  visible 
law  of  Nature,  the  formation  become  more  and 
more  precise,  and  at  the  same  time  more  and  more 
manifold. 

The  forms  represented  with  them  by  the  chil- 
dren's impulse  to  activity  are  again,  as  before,  sep- 
arated into  forms  of  life,  beauty,  and  knowledge. 
But  each  series  of  them  is  essentially  extended  by 


260  EDUCATION  BY   DEVELOPMENT. 

representations  on  and  in  a  surface,  as  well  as  by 
outline  representations,  especially  from  the  province 
of  life  and  use. 

The  most  remarkable,  however,  is  the  phenome- 
non which  is  brought  forward  by  this  single  altera- 
tion of  the  parts  (that  each  direction,  before  only 
different  according  to  the  position,  is  now  also  dif- 
ferent according  to  the  size).  This  is  that  each 
single  form  of  beauty  or  picture-form  which  could 
be  represented,  at  the  most,  three  different  times  by 
the  cube  once  divided  on  each  side  or  into  eight 
part-cubes,  may  be  carried  out  more  than  a  hun- 
dred— indeed  several  hundred  times — by  the  cube 
divided  into  eight  building  blocks.  These  forms 
are  always  different,  yet  are  produced  according  to 
a  simple  necessary  law  without  any  arbitrariness. 

What  an  effect  it  must  have,  what  an  impres- 
sion it  must  make,  even  on  the  simple  intelligence 
of  the  thoughtful  child  and  on  his  later  developed 
childlike  intellect,  when  he  perceives  that  the  hu- 
man being,  even  he  himself,  by  his  own  small  and 
limited  individual  power,  can  form  such  innumer- 
able things  with  such  small  means!  What  must 
an  unlimited  single  power,  like  that  of  God,  be 
able  to  accomplish  and  form  with  infinitely  less 
means!  And  these  eight  blocks  have  indeed  pro- 
ceeded and  can  be  brought  forth  even  by  a  child's 
power  from  the  first  principal  cube,  which  by  itself 
shows  already  such  a  great  number  of  alterations. 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  QUEEN.  261 

According  to  experience,  it  must  be  assumed 
with,  certainty  that  such  perceptions  can  not  remain 
in  the  childish  mind,  in  which  often  the  smallest 
impressions  have  the  greatest  results,  without  bene- 
ficial effect  for  his  whole  life.  And  the  observa- 
tions of  this  higher  yet  simple  kind  are  as  many 
as  the  representations  possible — indeed  more,  since 
each,  representation  admits  of  several  different  per- 
ceptions. 

These  observations  are  so  much  the  more  im- 
portant for  the  child,  as  not  only  can  the  represen- 
tations and  perceptions  be  again  called  forth  at  any 
time,  but  also  the  child  is  introduced  by  means  of 
them  from  himself  and  his  play  into  the  notice  of 
Nature;  and  his  eyes,  too,  are  opened  to  the  in- 
tuition and  perceptions  in  IsTature  where  these 
truths  become  formed  and  actually  shine  wher- 
ever he  turns.  So  through  these  plays  and  this 
way  of  playing  in  the  life  of  the  child  is  not 
only  introduced  and  prepared  for,  but  actually 
obtained  and  accomplished,  that  for  which  we 
strive — namely,  that  the  observation  and  con- 
templation of  Nature  may  be  the  foundation  of 
human  education,  especially  of  the  fostering  of 
child  life. 

In  this  reference  must  be  here  made  prominent 

a  perception  important  for  life  and  a  general  law 

which  shows  itself  in  these  playful  representations, 

as  well  in  Nature  as  in  the  life  of  the  human  being 
19 


262  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

and  even  of  the  child,  and  obtrudes  itself  in  these 
representations.  This  law  is  that  each  following 
development  includes  each  preceding  and  earlier 
one,  as  is  demonstrated,  for  example,  by  the  per- 
ception and  development  of  the  three  different 
principal  directions  at  right  angles  to  each  other, 
which  are  indicated  even  in  the  sphere,  but  first 
appear  permanently  different  in  the  so-called  build- 
ing block.  This  perception  is  as  important  for  the 
life  of  the  human  being,  and  particularly  for  the 
development  of  the  child,  as  the  law  already  pre- 
viously brought  forward,  that  all  that  follows  must 
go  out  from  that  which  precedes.  But  the  child  is 
led  by  ISTature  mediated  by  play,  to  the  recogni- 
tion of  this  law  which  is  so  important  for  his  life 
and  which  expresses  itself  on  so  many  sides,  and  in- 
deed everywhere  in  I^ature.  This  is  the  reason 
that  these  plays  appear  important  to  us.  For  as 
the  child  is  led  in  such  a  way  to  perceive  all  de- 
velopment and  manifoldness  in  Nature  as  proceed- 
ing from  a  unity,  so  again  is  he  led  through  all 
manifoldness  of  Nature  to  its  first  unity,  to  its  rest- 
ing in  God,  to  its  having  proceeded  from  God. 
This  intuition  of  the  mind,  this  recognition  of  the 
spirit,  and  this  perception  of  life  afford  the  highest 
prize  of  life  to  the  human  being. 

Now  a  few  more  words  about  the  next  follow- 
ing play  and  its  development  from  the  preceding, 
as  well  as  about  its  nature,  etc. 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  QUEEN.  263 

Because  the  advance  goes  from  the  undivided 
cube  to  that  once  divided  on  each  side,  and  because 
the  most  natural  advance  is  from  one  to  two,  so  the 
next  plaything  in  this  series  of  the  means  of  play 
is  the  cube  twice  divided  on  each  side  parallel  to 
its  sides.  This  increased  division,  however,  does 
not  yet  effectuate  the  progress  of  development  in  the 
child,  for  only  a  greater  number  of  parts  would 
be  thus  obtained.  Therefore  there  must  be  added 
to  the  plurality  of  parts  the  variety  and  difference 
in  kind  of  those  parts,  in  order  to  obtain  an  actual 
advance.  This  is  done  by  the  division  into  the  part- 
cubes,  but  necessarily,  according  to  the  natural  law 
of  the  constantly  requiring  opposite,  by  a  division 
wholly  different  from  the  preceding  ones,  viz.,  ac- 
cording to  the  oblique  or  diagonal  plane  of  a  part- 
cube,  and  once  as  well  as  twice  crossing  it.  Since 
now,  by  the  dividing  of  the  principal  cube  twice 
on  each  side,  the  cube  separates  into  three  times 
three  times  three  or  twenty-seven  part-cubes,  it  is 
in  the  nature  of  the  thing  that  each  of  three 
cubes  should  be  once  divided  into  two  diagonal 
halves,  thus  into  two  right-angled  triangular 
prisms,  in  each  of  which  two  sides  are  similar  and 
one  is  different.  [This  remark  applies  also  to  the 
bounding  lines  of  each  prism.]  Then  again  each 
of  three  other  small  cubes  is  divided  by  two  diag- 
onal planes  cutting  each  other  at  right  angles  into 
four  equal  quarters,  thus  into  four  right-angled 


264  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

prisms,^  each  consisting  of  two  similar  sides  and  a 
dissimilar  one. 

Indeed  the  correct  comprehension  of  the  right, 
in  form  and  figure  as  well  as  in  life  and  represen- 
tation, is  above  all  and  first  of  all  important  for  the 
human  being  and  the  child.  Therefore,  since  Na- 
ture as  a  model  for  man  teaches  the  right  so  multi- 
fariously, and  first  of  all  in  the  upright  position 
(the  perpendicular  attitude  toward  the  upper  sur- 
face of  the  earth,  etc.),  so  precisely  the  former 
plays  sought  also  to  confirm  this  comprehension  and 
this  impression.  But  the  oblique  and  inclined  is 
important  for  the  comprehension  of  Nature,  of  her 
attributes,  and  of  her  laws,  as  well  as  of  all  the 
laws  of  life  (who  does  not  think  here  of  the  in- 
clinations or  dippings  of  the  magnet  and  of  their 
significance,  as  well  as  of  the  directions  in  the  hu- 
man mind,  which  are  also  significantly  called  in- 
clinations!), for  which  reason  these  plays  and 
means  of  employment  of  childhood  in  their  progres- 
sive development  in  accordance  with  childhood  also 
strive  to  train  the  child  to  the  comprehension  of 
the  oblique  and  its  extent  in  Nature,  in  art,  and 
in  life. 

This  may  serve  as  an  indication  of  the  signifi- 
cance of  this  play  for  fostering  the  impulse  to  ac- 
tivity in  the  child,  and  for  introducing  him  into 

*  The  bases  of  these  prisms  are  isosceles  triangles. — Tr. 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  QUEEN.  265 

Nature  and  into  the  laws  of  life  in  general.  The 
division  of  their  representations  into  forms  of 
thought  or  knowledge,  into  forms  of  feeling  or 
beauty,  and  into  forms  of  life  or  use  (object  forms) 
came  forth  clearly  and  importantly  even  in  the 
two  former  plays  and  means  of  employment,  and 
it  does  so  here  yet  more.  Since  now,  further,  the 
number  of  forms  is  naturally  very  much  more  in 
each  of  the  three  branches  or  divisions  than  with 
the  earlier  means  of  employment,  there  soon  come 
forth  from  each  of  them  new  and  important  rami- 
fications leading  into  Nature  as  well  as  into  life. 
Besides,  the  forms  of  each  kind  also  appear  on  that 
account  so  much  the  more  complete,  the  more  fin- 
ished and  formed  they  are.  Therefore  if  they  are 
architectural  forms  they  receive  roofs,  doors,  etc.; 
if  they  are  articles  of  furniture  they  receive  more 
exactness;  if  they  are  forms  of  beauty  they  re- 
ceive the  essential,  new  feature  that  now,  besides  the 
square,  the  equal-sided  triangle,  and  indeed  the 
round  which  appears  as  a  fundamental  element  of 
the  forms  of  beauty  in  the  most  manifold  way,  and 
both  appear  as  an  introduction  into  the  plant,  leaf, 
and  flower  forms  of  Nature.  The  forms  of  knowl- 
edge present  for  comparison,  besides  an  already 
large  manifoldness  of  the  simple  or  whole  forms, 
a  yet  greater  number  of  part  forms,  and  as  a 
wholly  new  result,  a  multitude  of  combined  forms 
of  truth  or  knowledge.     I  will  cite  especially  the 


266  EDUCATION  BY   DEVELOPMENT. 

Pythagorean  Proposition,  or  the  truth  of  the 
united  square  contents  of  the  square  surfaces  on 
the  longest  side  of  the  right-angled  triangle,  being 
equal  to  the  square  surfaces  on  the  legs  of  the  in- 
closed right  angle. 

This  play  and  employment  box  is  especially 
important  for  the  child  on  account  of  the  richness 
of  its  forms,  leading  on  many  sides  into  Nature, 
and  on  account  of  the  multitude  of  simple  facts 
of  thought,  life,  and  Nature  which  proceed  from 
them. 

Opposite  to  it  in  the  series  of  play  with  tablet- 
like parts  stands  the  cube,  whose  long  tablets  [ob- 
long prisms]  are  again  divided  into  square  tablets 
and  square  columns.  The  constructions  are,  on 
this  account,  to  a  great  extent  columnar. 

Yet,  since  it  would  be  impossible  in  one  state- 
ment to  complete  the  whole  of  the  subject  in  the 
yet  remaining  manifoldness  of  its  direction  and  in 
the  many  kinds  of  their  development,  and  still  less 
possible  to  bring  it  forward  with  at  least  a  few 
necessary  illustrations,  I  close  here  my  explana- 
tions of  these  educating  plays.  It  has  been  at 
least  possible  for  me  to  lay  before  you  for  your 
searching  examination  a  few  of  the  most  essential 
perceptions,  laws,  and  facts  on  which  rests  the 
effort  we  have  begun,  or  rather  from  which  it  pro- 
ceeds.    You  have  received  at  least  a  general  idea 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  QUEEN.     267 

of  the  progress  of  the  whole  which  further  un- 
folds itself  according  to  fixed  and  necessary  laws; 
which  progresses  onward  from  this  point,  goes 
down  by  degrees  more  and  more  into  the  practical 
life  of  the  child  and  the  directions  and  relations  of 
life  awaiting  him;  comprehends  his  whole  life, 
his  inner  and  outer  (that  is,  his  spiritual  and 
corporeal),  his  present  and  future  life  requirements 
at  their  starting  point;  and  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  the  whole  comes  to  a  conclusion  with 
the  development  in  his  mind,  of  the  concep- 
tion that  "  through  God  and  in  God,  by  whom  all 
is  which  exists,  I  also  live  and  abide  in  the  mani- 
foldness  of  the  phenomena  of  my  life."  In  respect 
to  the  application  of  these  plays  in  the  life  and 
society  of  children  I  must  refer  to  what  I  was  per- 
mitted to  accomplish  by  kind,  confiding  permission 
and  gracious  favor  here  in  several  circles  of  chil- 
dren. Though  it  would  not  be  possible  for  me  to 
describe  in  one  hour,  even  in  its  first  fundamental 
lines,  in  the  single  accomplishments  required  by  it, 
an  idea  very  dear  to  man,  highly  simple,  but  rich 
in  its  development — to  make  IsTature  in  its  eternal 
laws  of  unfolding  and  life,  placed  in  it  by  God 
himself,  the  foundation  of  human  and  childhood 
education— I  do  not  therefore  doubt  of  a  favorable 
and  kind  indulgence.  But  if  it  should  become  pos- 
sible for  me  to  bring  forward  this  idea  (so  simple 
in  itself,  and  yet  certainly  beneficial  in  its  results) 


268  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

SO  clearly  that  one  would  convince  himself  of  its 
truth  and  possible  applicability,  especially  with 
children  before  the  age  of  school  duties,  I  trust  I 
should  be  pardoned  if  I,  in  conclusion,  should  ex- 
press openly  the  wish  of  the  heart  and  spirit  which 
has  faithfully  fostered  within  itself  this  idea  until 
now — for  almost  fifty  years.  This  wish  is  that  there 
might  be  for  the  demonstrated  idea  such  a  practical 
realization,  a  place  for  its  fostering  and  unfolding, 
where  it  could  make  itself  known  in  the  entire  ful- 
ness of  its  beneficent  effect  on  the  mind  of  the  child, 
and  in  the  rich  blessings  which  it  brings  to  the  life 
of  the  human  being. 

Should  this  wish  be  fulfilled  by  the  noble  and 
respected  assembly  here  present,  it  would  thus  be- 
come at  once  possible  for  the  idea  to  give  practical 
evidence,  primarily  by  the  blessing  which  develops 
from  it  for  the  life  of  the  child,  of  the  gratitude 
which  is  due  for  the  indulgent  reception  of  its  first 
incomplete  presentation. 


THE    CONNECTING    SCHOOL. A    LETTER    FROM    FRIED- 
RICH    FROEBEL    TO    ONE    OF    HIS    DISCIPLES. 

Marienthal,  May  25, 1852,   ■ 
Dear  and  esteemed  Emma: 

You  desire  from  me  an  appendix  concerning 
the  management  of  the  connecting  or  preparatory 
school — the  connection  between  the  kindergarten 
and  the  school  for  actual  learning.  This  will,  of 
course,  be  difficult  for  me,  since  I  can  not  add  the 
perception  of  the  actual  objects  to  my  written 
words.  However,  I  will  make  the  attempt.  First 
of  all  let  us  try  to  fix  somewhat  the  different  stages 
of  the  development  of  the  child.  The  first  stage  is 
that  of  childhood.  This  is  again  separated  into  two 
divisions;  in  the  first  of  which  the  tending  of  child- 
hood, especially  with  regard  to  the  bodily  invigora- 
tion  and  strengthening  of  the  child,  predominates; 
and  in  the  second  division  the  careful  development 
and  use  of  body,  limbs,  and  senses.  This  baby 
stage  connects  the  child  pre-eminently  with  the 
arms  and  lap  of  his  mother.  With  the  first  stage 
is  linked  the  second  stage,   which   is   continuous 

269 


270  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

with  it;  this  is  the  stage  of  the  family.  By  means 
of  the  space  in  the  room  which  is  free  to  the 
child  he  develops  to  a  wholly  independent  and 
spontaneous  use  of  his  body^  limbs,  and  senses,  and 
especially  to  a  more  complete  development  of  his 
capacity  for  speech,  so  that  he  is  at  least  in  a  con- 
dition to  communicate  all  his  needs,  and  to  comply 
with  the  simple  requirements  of  life  which  espe- 
cially refer  to  alterations  of  space  and  determina- 
tions of  activity.  These  two  stages  form  a  whole, 
in  a  sense,  opposite  to  the  kindergarten.  The 
second  principal  stage  of  the  life  of  children  is  that 
of  the  kindergarten.  At  its  entrance  into  the  kin- 
dergarten the  child  enters  into  a  manifold  new  re- 
lation of  life  which  should  be  carefully  and 
thoughtfully  considered  by  the  kindergartner. 
The  little  one  enters,  first  of  all,  into  relations  with 
a  number  of  companions,  and  with  those  compan- 
ions as  individual  parts  of  a  whole,  but  he  is  himself 
also  a  part  of  this  whole,  and,  as  he  has  gained  or 
lost  from  the  whole,  he  has  also  duties  toward  it. 
In  this  lies  the  human  training  of  the  kindergarten, 
which  the  kindergartner  must  make  clear  to  the 
child's  consciousness  in  order  to  carefully  introduce 
him  into  this  new  relation,  and  to  make  this  rela- 
tion fruitful  to  him.  Second,  the  child,  when  he 
comes  into  the  kindergarten,  comes  to  a  plurality 
of  objects  which  lead  him  to  comparing  perception, 
thus  to  comparing  afterthought,  to  the  training  of 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  271 

the  understanding,  and  so,  througk  tlieir  appear- 
ance and  their  relations  unconsidered  and  unan- 
ticipated, to  manifold  recognitions.  These  objects 
become  also  for  the  child  not  only  objects  of  per- 
ception, etc.,  but  also  objects  of  the  activity  of  the 
creative  will,  and  thus  means  for  the  recognition  of 
his  creative  power  and  the  results  of  that  power. 
They  thus  teach  him  through  the  thing  and  the  deed 
to  know,  first,  the  things  themselves;  second, 
their  relations  to  one  another;  third,  their  man- 
ner of  origin  and  development;  and  fourth,  their 
further  effect.  All  this  the  kindergartner  must 
bring  very  clearly  to  insight  and  perception  before 
she  carries  her  child  on  to  the  third  stage,  the  con- 
necting school.  In  the  kindergarten  the  question 
is  merely  of  perception,  contemplation,  action,  cor- 
rect designation  by  words,  as  well  as  correct  indi- 
cation of  what  is  brought  out  by  action;  but  not 
yet  of  recognition  and  knowledge  separated  from 
the  object. 

Object  and  knowledge,  perception  and  word,  are 
yet  in  many  ways  as  much  united  as  body  and  soul. 
This  training  stage  of  the  kindergarten  must  yet 
be  retained  (held  fast)  by  the  kindergartner  as  a 
very  sharply  bounded  one.  The  abstract  pure 
knowledge,  the  abstract  self-dependent  thought,  is 
first  entered  upon  in  the  fourth  stage — that  of  the 
connecting  school.  The  name  closely  indicates  its 
nature.     The  connecting  school  stands  in  the  mid- 


272  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

die  between  the  kindergarten  and  the  school  for 
learning  or  for  conceptions.  It  combines  both,  as 
in  a  certain  respect  it  shares  the  nature  of  both; 
that  is,  it  passes  from  the  perception  of  an  object  to 
the  idea  of  that  object. 

The  precise  and  clear  result  of  the  kindergarten 
(complete  within  itself)  is  therefore  a  sharply  de- 
fined and  clear  apprehension  and  conception  of  the 
object,  of  its  properties,  its  relations,  its  origin,  its 
onward  development,  and  its  manifold  connection 
with  life.  And  all  this  is  connected  with  the  accu- 
rately describing  word,  first  of  all,  by  the  forms  and 
images  called  forth  by  the  child's  freely  creating 
activity,  as  forms  of  life,  as  forms  of  knowledge 
(recognition)  and  insight,  and  as  forms  of  feeling, 
forms  of  beauty.  Here  that  which  is  inwardly 
single  and  existent  appears  in  outward  manifold- 
ness,  and  so  the  child  comes  to  the  true  recognition, 
to  the  particular  perception  of  the  manifoldness 
which  resides  in  the  inner  unity  and  comes  forth 
from  it  by  legitimate  unfolding.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  important  phenomena  to  which  you  must 
call  the  attention  of  all  those  who  examine  the 
subject;  for,  as  all  proceeds  from  a  unity  and  again 
returns  to  a  unity  through  manifoldness,  opposite- 
ness,  and  connection,  its  contrary  and  opposite  is 
given  with  each  thing,  and  so  the  child  is  intro- 
duced unconsciously  into  the  science,  indeed  into 
the  living  expression  of  the  simple  and  general  as 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  273 

well  as  the  special  laws  of  life  by  this  definite 
action  and  by  this  holding  fast  in  feeling  and  com- 
prehension; the  child  indeed  lives  in  these  laws. 
You  must,  first,  make  this  very  clear,  vivid,  and 
intelligible  to  all;  and,  second,  show  it  particu- 
larly to  the  examining  authorities,  and  especially 
to  the  open  or  silent  opposers  of  the  system. 

Therefore  the  stage  of  kindergarten  training 
must  be  very  clear  to  you.  Your  perception  of  it 
must  be  very  decided.  In  this  kindergarten  train- 
ing the  law  of  development,  constantly  used  and 
followed,  counteracts  the  impulse  to  destruction,  es- 
pecially in  boys,  as  it  arouses  the  impulse  to  devel- 
oping, creative,  formative  activity. 

But  what  is  the  result  of  this  developing  ac- 
tivity? It  is  as  follows:  That  which  is  not  ap- 
parent becomes  evident  (in  the  sphere  one  recog- 
nizes the  axis);  the  invisible  becomes  visible  (this 
applies  to  the  child).  In  the  action  of  the  parents 
the  child  recognizes  their  love,  and  vice  versa.  In 
the  manifestations  of  Nature  the  oneness  and  the 
love  of  God  are  disclosed.  To  this  disclosure  of 
that  which  is  not  apparent  lead  the  stick-laying, 
the  interlacing,  the  intertwining,  and  especially  the 
peaswork,  rising  from  the  hollow,  empty,  plane 
surface  to  the  hollow,  empty  solids — cube,  octahe- 
dron, tetrahedron,  etc. — and  their  constant  connec- 
tion with  and  abiding  in  cube  and  sphere.  You 
have  been  through  all  this  work  and  can  conse- 


274  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

quently  demonstrate  it  also  to  your  examiners  and 
critics. 

Before  the  stick-laying  I  directed  the  laying  of 
surfaces  or  little  tablets.  The  laying  of  squares  and 
triangles  especially  should  be  mentioned.  This  lay- 
ing of  surfaces  leads  to  the  highly  important  knowl- 
edge of  the  relation  of  form  to  contents,  or  of  figure 
and  form  to  size.  It  teaches  us  to  know  the  laws 
which  lead  us  into  the  deeper  knowledge  of  the 
nature  of  things — namely,  that  like  form  is  pos- 
sible with  unlike  size,  and  that  equal  size  is  possible 
with  unlike  form.  The  surface-laying  also  teaches 
us  the  laws  of  size  and  form  (mathematics),  which 
develop  further  from  those  just  mentioned,  and 
shows  us  how  the  first  apprehension  and  perception 
of  these  laws  is  merely  a  simple  making,  changing, 
doing,  without  any  further  reflection  and  without 
any  words. 

You  see,  my  dear  Emma,  you  must  expound 
the  nature,  means,  and  ways  of  kindergarten  guid- 
ance in  such  an  organic  manner  as  this  to  your  edu- 
cational officials  as  well  as  to  the  severe  critics.  If 
you  do  so  you  are  provided  with  weapons  and  will 
be  unconquered,  even  if  no  one  agrees  with  you, 
even  if  no  one  says  that  you  are  right.  Your  being 
right  does  not  at  all  depend  on  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  fact.  You  can  be  perfectly  right  with- 
out the  acknowledgment  being  made  by  another, 
just  because  he  does  not  see  into  the  subject;  in- 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  275 

sight  can  be  impressed  upon  no  one.  Tlie  being 
right  is  based  on  mathematical  proof  which  no  one 
can  oppose,  and  which  speaks  through  the  object. 

But  the  whole  kindergarten  procedure  rests 
upon  simple  mathematical  proofs,  and  you  yourself 
must  rise  to  the  perception  of  them.  Now,  there  are 
two  more  principal  perceptions  of  life  which  begin 
in  the  kindergarten  and  which  are  demonstrable  in 
their  fundamental  generality.  These  are  the  rela- 
tions of  plurality,  mass,  number,  to  unity,  and  the 
relation  of  the  designation  to  the  thing;  and  here 
again  in  a  double  reference,  first  that  of  the  word 
to  the  thing,  then  that  of  the  sign  to  the  thing. 

As  the  numbers  in  their  essential  diversity  as 
even  and  uneven  numbers,  as  three  times  two  and 
two  times  three  [square  surfaces],  are  seized  in 
the  cube  as  unity,  this  is  an  important  fact  of  our 
kindergarten  procedure.  I  place  great  value  on 
this,  as  I  do  on  everything  in  which  manifoldness 
develops  from  unity  through  contrast  and  again 
returns  to  unity.  However,  number  first  finds  its 
true  recognition  with  the  stick-laying,  where,  as 
you  know,  all  which  teaches  the  relations  of  enlarg- 
ing quantity  to  increasing  number,  the  distribution 
of  the  size  of  the  parts  (thirds  being  smaller  than 
halves,  sixths  than  fourths)  comes  out  necessarily 
and  in  the  simplest  way.  Thus  the  foundation  is 
laid  in  the  occupations  of  the  children  in  the 
kindergarten  for  the  perception  of  number  and  its 


276  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

relations,  as  so-called  integers  and  fractional  or 
divided  numbers. 

You  must  once  more  quietly  recall  this  to  your 
remembrance,  and  bring  it  to  objective  perception 
in  your  own  room,  dear  Emma,  so  that  you  may 
again  obtain  the  feeling  of  supervision  and  master- 
ship. You, should  never  allow  this  feeling  to  be 
weakened,  ■riiy  dear  Emma,  but  you  must,  on  the 
contrary,  strengthen  and  elevate  it. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  the  consideration  of  the 
representation  of  the  object  by  word  and  drawing. 
The  former,  in  the  kindergarten,  is  confined  to  the 
spelling  and  writing  of  a  few  names,  and  the  article 
entitled  How  by  Means  of  Persons  and  Things  Lina 
learns  to  Read  ^  gives  you  sufficient  explanation  of 
it.  If  you  develop  what  is  there  stated  in  and  from 
itself,  as  your  own  view^,  you  can  thereby  meet  each 
criticism  and  question  with  the  full  feeling  of  suf- 
ficiency. 

This  subject  is  treated  in  the  just-mentioned 
article  so  lucidly,  so  truly,  so  in  harmony  with  the 
development  of  the  child  and  the  reflective  nature 
of  man  that  it  merely  needed  to  be  read  to  establish 
the  truth  of  what  is  there  stated. 

Next  comes  the  representation  of  the  object  by 
drawing — that  is,  by  the  sign.  Little  of  this  be- 
longs in  the  kindergarten,  because  the  little  fingers 

*  See  vol.  XXX,  International  Education  Series. — Tr. 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  277 

are  as  yet  too  weak.  Stick-laying  represents  the 
drawing  in  one  aspect;  the  making  of  circles,  which 
the  children  like  so  well  to  do  with  the  slate  pencil, 
is  another  aspect.  The  latter  can  be  carried  out 
to  the  simple  flower  and  leaf  forms. 

However,  on  account  of  the  weakness  of  the 
little  fingers,  the  drawing,  as  well  as  the  writing, 
belongs  predominantly  to  the  connecting  school, 
as  do  the  practice  in  color  and  the  genuine  singing 
exercises,  for  which  the  singing  in  kindergarten  is 
only  the  preparation. 

Add  to  this  the  introduction  into  life  itself  by 
the  movement  plays,  by  the  tending  of  the  little 
individual  gardens  and  of  the  general  garden  of  the 
children,  and  by  the  personal  feeling  of  selfhood 
and  life  awakened  and  nourished  in  the  child  by  the 
play  and  the  tending.  Add  also  the  presentiment 
(caused  by  the  just-mentioned  feeling  and  aroused 
at  the  same  time  with  its  increase)  of  a  fatherly 
Giver  of  life,  and  of  the  feeling  of  his  fostering  care 
of  life,  as  the  foundation  of  which  may  be  claimed 
the  testimony  of  Jesus,  that  children  wish  to  be 
good.  Put  all  this  together  and  you  have  the 
kindergarten  in  its  completed  cultivation,  and  the 
child,  as  a  member  of  it,  at  the  threshold  of  the 
connecting  school. 

Here  presses  on  us  pre-eminently  the  question, 
Then  what  makes  the  connecting  school  a  connect- 
ing school?  The  name  says  clearly  that  it  makes 
20 


278  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  connection  between  the  kindergarten  and  the 
school  for  genuine  study,  and  is  a  passage  from  the 
one  to  the  other.  The  name  also  implies  that  the 
connecting  school  comprises  and  unites  within  itself 
the  nature  of  both,  proceeding  from  the  develop- 
ment and  nature  of  the  kindergarten  to  the  school 
for  genuine  study,  and  to  the  right  guidance  of  the 
child  in  a  manner  corresponding  to  and  faithful  to 
his  nature  and  its  requirements. 

Now,  what  is  the  nature  of  the  kindergarten? 
And  what  of  the  school  ?  The  nature  of  the  two  may 
be  thus  described:  In  the  kindergarten  the  princi- 
pal consideration  is  the  child,  his  nature,  and  the 
strengthening,  invigorating,  developing,  drawing 
out,  and  educating  of  the  little  one;  in  the  school 
it  is  just  the  reverse.  Here,  in  the  connecting 
school,  the  principal  consideration  is  the  object,  its 
nature,  the  recognition,  perception,  and  comprehen- 
sion of  its  properties  and  relations,  and  the  desig- 
nation of  those  properties  and  relations;  the  train- 
ing of  the  child  thus  effected  is  but  secondary,  inci- 
dental, and  casual.  Through  the  demands  on  the 
.  child  to  recognize  the  object,  the  fact,  the  thing, 
in  its  right  nature,  in  its  true  properties  and  clear 
relations,  the  child  is  still  considered;  but  the  cor- 
rect comprehension  and  knowledge  of  the  object 
through  perception  is  ever  the  principal  considera- 
tion. In  the  school  the  principal  consideration  is 
the  comprehension  of  the  object  through  thinking, 


THE  CONNECTINa  SCHOOL.  0^9 

the  inner  presentation,  as  it  were  the  nnclotliing 
from  the  body — abstraction. 

The  connecting  school  thus  forms  the  step 
from  the  perception  of  reality  and  facts  in  the 
kindergarten  to  the  comprehension  of  abstractions 
and  of  thought  in  the  school.  You  must  make 
this  very  clear  to  yourself,  my  dear  Emma,  and  you 
are  right  in  thinking  that  the  correct  comprehen- 
sion of  the  nature  of  the  connecting  school  and  its 
proper  guidance  is  very  difficult,  or  at  least  not  easy, 
just  because  it  presupposes  exact  knowledge  of  the 
kindergarten,  its  nature  and  peculiarities,  and  also 
at  least  the  general  knowledge  of  the  school,  its 
subjects  of  knowledge,  its  nature,  and  its  demands. 

Whoever,  therefore,  sets  for  herself  the  task  of 
completely  carrying  on  a  connecting  school  must 
go  through  a  training  course  of  at  least  one  year, 
if  this  guidance  is  actually  to  lay  claim  to  com- 
pleteness and  perfection.  On  account  of  this  lack 
of  thorough  training  for  the  connecting  school  it 
is  for  the  most  part  carried  on  so  imperfectly,  and 
on  account  of  the  twofold  character  of  the  training 
required,  in  spite  of  its  high  and  great  importance 
to  the  teacher,  and  even  to  the  public  teacher,  it  is 
still  so  rare. 

Upon  what  path  does  the  connecting  school 
now  enter?  It  connects  accurately  with  the  facts 
and  phenomena,  with  the  sense-perceptions  in  the 
kindergarten,  but  gives  generality  of  significance 


280  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

to  the  observation  of  particulars,  and  thns  gives 
intellectual  comprehension  and  a  form  of  thought. 
Eor  example,  my  little  ball  moves  easily,  there  and 
here,  forward  and  back,  up  and  down  (kindergarten 
perception).  Everywhere  in  space  I  can  think  of 
three  lines,  of  three  directions,  all  three  of  which 
intersect  at  one  point,  and  at  right  angles  to  one  an- 
other. I  can  draw  them  and  place  them  before 
myself  in  thought  (connecting-school  conception). 
Or,  going  yet  further  back,  ''  the  little  ball  escapes 
from  my  hand  and  hops  out  free."  It  escapes 
from  the  small,  narrow,  inclosed  space  into  the 
great  free  space  (kindergarten  perception).  Every 
object  can  move  in  particular  or  general  spaces 
(conception  of  the  connecting  school).  Exercise 
in  the  connecting  school :  What  rests  or  what  moves 
in  particular,  and  what  in  general  space?  To  con- 
nect with  the  preceding  kindergarten  perception: 
How  does  it  (state  it  in  a  general  form)  move  in 
space?  Answer  in  the  connecting  school:  In  three 
directions  at  right  angles  to  one  another  (compre- 
hensive form  of  thought).  This  form  of  thought 
explains  in  the  connecting  school  the  diversity  in 
the  movement  of  the  ball.  Or,  again,  one  whole, 
two  halves;  two  halves,  one  whole  (kindergar- 
ten perception).  I  can  divide  each  whole  into 
two  halves,  and  always  unite  the  two  halves 
of  a  whole  again  to  form  this  whole  (intellectual 
and    general    comprehension    of    the    connecting 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  281 

school).  Where  do  whole  things  appear  actu- 
ally divided  into  two  halves,  or  halved?  and 
what  wholes  can  I  divide  into  two  perfect  equal 
halves?  (progressive  development  of  the  connecting 
school  at  this  stage,  used  for  the  perception  of  num- 
ber and  quantity).  Passage  to  figures  (distin- 
guished from  number).  "  You  see,  children,  it 
would  be  too  tiresome  always  to  make  the  proper 
number  of  strokes  for  the  numbers  or  quantities,  so 
people  have  found  out  signs  for  the  numbers  or 
quantities  (first  of  all  up  to  nine)  which  are  called 
figures.  These  figures  may  perhaps  have  origi- 
nated in  the  following  way: 

3=i=5,  5'=-^-6,'7=  7=7. 

But  we  have  a  particular  sign  for  each  particular 
number  or  quantity.  In  other  words,  we  have  a 
particular  figure  for  each  number.  A  number  or 
quantity  of  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  is  considered  as  one  single 
composite  (drawn  together)  whole,  and  is  hence 
called  the  ten  (zehen  from  ziehen,  to  draw).  This 
number  is  again  indicated  by  a  figure  1,  but  this 
figure  occupies  the  second  place  counting  from 
right  to  left,  etc."     (Connection  with  arithmetic.) 


282  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

It  is  remarkable  how  tlie  whole  of  arithmetic,  and 
the  whole  teaching  of  number,  is  connected  with 
the  perception  forms  of  the  kindergarten,  and  you, 
my  dear  Emma,  can  most  completely  satisfy  each 
examiner  of  the  subject,  and  each  critic,  of  the 
truth  of  this  statement.  Alas !  I  can  not  here  dem- 
onstrate-it  all  to  you  just  because  it  presupposes  the 
direct  perception  and  presentation  of  the  object, 
which  I  have  neither  time  nor  space  to  supply  here 
by  written  words. 

But  as  the  connecting  school  leads  so  deeply 
and  fundamentally  into  the  science  of  numbers  and 
figures,  into  real  calculation  (arithmetic),  so  also 
does  it  lead  into  the  knowledge  and  science  of  space, 
form,  and  size  in  a  greater  or  less  circuit — the  cir- 
cuit as  much  greater  or  less  as  suits  the  views  of  the 
teacher,  the  need  of  the  scholar,  or  of  the  school 
in  general. 

Willingly  as  I  have  shown  you  here  the  easy 
and  satisfactory  way  conjointly  with  the  word  and 
the  perception,  yet,  as  I  must  refer  you  to  my 
Education  of  Man  for  my  treatment  of  number,  so 
I  must  now  also  call  your  attention  in  respect  to 
form  and  size  to  the  plates  illustrating  the  Fifth 
Gift.^*  You  may  also  recall  to  your  mind  the 
forms  of  knowledge  with  the  different  triangles. 
These  and  the  peaswork  are  the  most  important 
means  of  passing  from  the  kindergarten,  through 

*  See  vol.  XXX.  International  Education  Series. — Tr. 


THE  CONNECTINa  SCHOOL.  283 

the  connecting  school,  to  the  school  for  study, 
thought,  and  teaching.  They  also  form  the  most 
important  means  of  connecting  the  former  with  the 
latter,  which,  to  use  a  common  phrase,  we  will 
term  "  the  school  of  instruction.'^  I  use  these  dif- 
ferent expressions  in  order  to  give  you  an  oppor- 
tunity of  grasping  as  exactly  as  possible  the  nature 
of  the  school,  and  so  of  comprehending  the  nature 
of  the  connecting  school. 

You  are  quite  right.  The  keystone  of  kinder- 
garten employment  is  the  transformation  of  solid 
bodies,  and  consequently  the  knowledge  of  the  rela- 
tions of  the  different  geometric  (crystalline)  solids 
to  one  another,  as  well  as  their  development  from 
one  another,  and  the  relation  of  all  to  the  space- 
filling, geometric  imities. 

The  fourteen  solids  which  you  have  received, 
and,  if  possible,  the  making  of  such  forms  with 
potter's  clay  or  with  cubes  of  turnip  or  beet-root, 
furnish  the  means  to  acquire  this  knowledge.  It 
is  best  to  have  the  cubes  of  equal  size  prepared  by 
the  joiner,  if  he  will  utilize  for  this  purpose  his 
somewhat  disused  tools.  If  it  is  difficult  for  you, 
however,  to  have  these  prepared  you  must  content 
yourself  with  the  box  of  fourteen  solids  which  was 
sent  to  you,  and  with  their  derivation  and  develop- 
ment from  the  cube. 

Let  me  first  recall  to  your  memory  the  use  of 
this  box  of  fourteen  solids  in  the  kindergarten. 


284     EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  training  of  the  human  being  which  educates 
by  developing,  or  the  kindergarten  training  which 
is  a  complete  whole,  begins,  as  I  have  already  said, 
with  the  tending  and  observation  of  the  stage  of 
infancy,  and  here  again  with  personal  and  extrane- 
ous care  (the  care  of  that  which  is  foreign  and  ex- 
ternal to  self),  and  the  comparison  of  both.  The 
second  stage  is  that  of  complete  development  of 
limbs  and  senses  and  of  the  body.  Such  develop- 
ment is  needed  that  the  child  may  do  justice  to  his 
own  personality,  and  may  bring  things  near  to  him- 
self, or  himself  near  to  the  things  in  order  to  look 
at,  to  handle,  to  use,  to  utilize,  to  change  them. 

For  this  purpose  the  child  must  learn,  above 
all,  to  know  each  thing  in  its  capacity  for  filling 
space,  in  its  property  of  being  defined  within  itself, 
in  its  rest  and  motion,  in  its  form  and  size,  in  its 
gravity,  etc.  The  ball  serves  this  purpose  for  the 
child.  The  ball  unites  in  itself  and  shows  all  the 
properties  which  appertain  in  general  to  all  and 
each  object  which  has*  a  body  and  occupies  space. 
Since  the  ball  shows  boundary,  visibility,  and  in- 
visibility, it  leads  to  the  great  law  of  the  world — 
the  law  of  opposites  (contrasts)  and  their  connec- 
tion. It  leads  even  to  the  discernment  of  that 
which  is  within,  of  that  which  is  invisible  and  sin- 
gle (in  the  middle),  as  well  as  to  the  connection, 
that  which  is  visibly  invisible  (in  the  axis).  It 
also  leads  the  child  to  the  discernment  of  all  the 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  285 

fundamental  properties  of  all  things  and  of  each 
thing,  and  at  the  same  time  introduces  him  into  the 
outside  world. 

According  to  the  law  of  opposites  the  soft 
round  ball  demands  the  hard  sphere  which  shows 
yet  more  precisely  many  of  the  properties  of  the 
ball. 

The  round  sphere,  having  one  surface,  no  edges, 
and  no  corners,  requires  its  opposite — the  cube, 
which  has  straight  surfaces  and  more  than  one  sur- 
face, and  has  also  edges  and  corners — and  leads 
thus  to  the  manifoldness  of  the  properties  of  things 
by  holding  fast  their  inner  invisible  unity.  The 
sphere  also  now  appears  clearly  as  the  expression  of 
motion  and  of  easy  movability,  and  the  cube  as  the 
expression  of  its  peculiar  gravity  and  rest. 

The  cylinder  shows  the  connection  between  the 
two,  the  motion  in  a  straight  direction  connecting 
rest  and  movability. 

Now,  you  know  the  second  play  gift  of  the 
children — the  sphere,  cylinder,  and  cube,  the  chil- 
dren's delight — with  the  richness  of  its  phenomena. 
With  this  gift  is  now  connected  the  employment 
with  the  fourteen  solids,  which  employment  pre- 
supposes the  former.  Therefore  sphere,  cylinder, 
and  cube — the  latter  in  its  twofold  form,  first  as  a 
mere  mathematical  cube,  second  as  a  cube  prepared 
for  manifold  alterations  by  being  pierced  and  hav- 
ing wires  in  it — are  the  first  four  solids. 


286  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

If  now  the  child  considers  these  three  (relative- 
ly four)  different  bodies  in  their  different  phenom- 
ena, what  have  they  shown  and  taught  him?  The 
answer  is  given  by  the  connecting  cylinder. 

The  round  would  fain  unite  with  it  the  straight, 
and  the  straight  would  fain  unite  with  it  the  round. 
The  cylinder  results  from  this  reciprocal  effort, 
from  the  union  of  cube  and  sphere,  as  it  were. 

Therefore  the  points  would  fain  become  sur- 
faces and  lines,  the  surfaces  would  fain  become 
points  and  lines. 

Suffice  it  to  say  that  each  would  fain  form  and 
develop  (as  it  were,  be  the  living  expression  of)  all 
others. 

We  see,  therefore,  how  the  inner  organic  and 
living  law  of  change,  of  development,  results  from 
the  apparently  outward  law  of  contrast  and  connec- 
tion. You  will  remember  that  this  manifestation 
and  this  law  already  came  forth  in  and  with  the 
employment  with  the  right-angled  isosceles  tri- 
angles where  the  outward,  mechanical,  inorganic 
grouping  led  to  a  living,  inner,  organic  coherence. 
What  took  place  there  with  the  surfaces,  and  with 
the  interlacing  and  intertwining  at  the  stage  of 
lines,  takes  place  here  in  predominantly  increased 
completeness  at  the  stage  of  corporeality,  and  of  the 
capacity  of  bodies  to  fill  space.  Hence  the  con- 
templation of  the  fourteen  solids  introduces  us  and 
the  child  into  the  province  of  formation  in  IsTa- 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  287 

ture,  and  first  of  all  into  the  province  of  formation 
of  the  solids. 

The  cube  (or  dice,  from  its  original  use)  is 
also  familiarly  called  the  hexahedron.  The  octa- 
hedron and  dodecahedron  also  receive  their  scien- 
tific names  from  the  number  of  their  surfaces.* 

According  to  the  law  and  effort  above  stated, 
the  corners  seek  to  extend  themselves  to  surfaces 
till  the  surfaces  touch  one  another  and,  as  it  were, 
reciprocally  set  limits  to  their  further  formation. 
Thus  results  the  cube,  with  its  angles  replaced  by 
planes,  f  Its  place  in  the  play-box  is  in  the  third 
compartment  of  the  left  middle  row;  the  eight 
completing  forms  lie  in  the  first  box  of  the  left 
completing  row. 

If  you  will  have  this  done,  dear  Emma,  first 
of  all  in  the  kindergarten  by  the  children  who  are 
in  their  last  quarter  (in  which  it  belongs)  with 
potter's  clay,  or  any  other  material  which  can  be 
easily  cut  (turnips),  you  must  give  the  children 
perfect  cubes  of  this  material  and  require  them 
(by  few  or  slight,  or  regular  cuttings  off  of 
all  eight  corners)  to  change  each  corner  or  point 
into  a  plane  or  surface   according  to  the   desire 

*  The  German  names  for  the  two  latter  solids  indicate  the 
number  of  corners  and  of  edges  respectively. — Tr. 

f  Literally  the  six-eight  surfaced  (sechsachtflachner) — that 
is,  a  solid  with  fourteen  sides,  six  of  which  are  similar  in  form 
and  size  (octagons)  and  the  other  eight  are  equal  triangles. — Tr. 


288  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

of  the  cube  (as  it  were)  till  tlie  surfaces  touch 
in  the  middle  of  the  edges  of  the  original  cube, 
and  thus  results  from  the  activity  of  the  children 
themselves  the  six-surface  previously  produced 
and  named.* 

Now,  if  you  have  sufficient  material  you  can 
let  this  solid  stand  for  itself  in  the  degree  in  which 
it  has  been  formed,  and  do  the  same  with  a  new 
cube  up  to  this  point.  Then  continue  by  cutting 
ofi  thin  slices  till  eight  equal  three-and-three-sided  f 
surfaces,  w^hich  become  on  further  slicing  hex- 
agonal surfaces;  and,  last  of  all,  purely  equilateral, 
triangular  surfaces  appear  lying  opposite  (y)  to 
the  former  (v)-  The  six  cube  surfaces  have  wholly 
disappeared.  In  the  place  of  each  appears  a  four- 
edged  corner ;  and  in  the  place  of  each  former  three- 
edged  corner  appears  now  a  purely  equilateral  tri- 
angular surface.  In  the  place  of  the  hexahedron 
(cube),  and  as  if  from  within  it,  appears  the  octahe- 
dron, and  as  a  connecting  intermediate  form  appears 
the  six-eight-surfaced  solid  which  was  given  by  the 
first  stage  of  change. 

In  the  box  of  the  fourteen  solids  the  mechan- 
ically organic  development  of  the  octahedron  from 
the  cube  could,  alas,  be  but  very  incompletely 
shown,  since  equal,  whole  corners  would  have  to 

*  Froebel    says  sechsflachner  here,  referring  to  the  "  six- 
eight-surface  "  solid  described  above. — Ed. 

f  I.  e.,  three  long  and  three  short  sides  to  each. — Ed, 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  289 

be  taken  away.  However,  by  means  of  this  box 
the  child  learns  at  least  how  and  where  the  octahe- 
dron lies  in  the  cube. 

N.  B. — The  supplementary  forms  to  the  octa- 
hedron lie  in  the  first  box  of  the  completing  row, 
quite  at  the  right  hand,  the  opening  of  the  box 
being  turned  toward  the  teacher. 

We  now  go  on,  dear  Emma. 

The  effort  to  become  surfaces  was  shown  and 
accomplished  by  the  corners,  so  that  the  six-eight- 
surfaced  solid  and  the  octahedron  resulted  from 
the  cube.  This  is  also  shown  by  the  twelve  edges 
of  the  cube.  This  effort  can  be  illustrated  by  means 
of  soft  masses  in  the  same  way  that  the  corners  were 
changed,  or  by  taking  away  the  twelve  completing 
forms.  Suffice  it  to  say,  there  results,  in  the  double 
way  before  shown,  from  the  cube 

first  the  six-twelve-surfaced  solid; 
then  the  pure  (rhombic)  dodecahedron. 

See  the  six-twelve-surfaced  solid  in  the  fourth 
compartment  of  the  left  middle  row,  its  complet- 
ing forms  in  the  second  box  of  the  left  complet- 
ing row,  the  dodecahedron  in  the  fourth  compart- 
ment of  the  right  middle  row,  and  its  completing 
forms  in  the  second  box  of  the  right  completing 
row. 

Cube,  octahedron,  and  dodecahedron,  with  their 
connecting  forms,  the  six-eight  surface  and  the  six- 
twelve  surface,  are  the  chief  forms  and  figures  of 


290  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

the   three   equal   surface   directions   of   the   cube, 
which  intersect  one  another  at  right  angles,  which 

[   1,  by  the  surfaces; 
lead  to  the  sphere  •<    2,  by  the  corners; 
(    3,  by  the  edges. 

Yet  where  powers  and  efforts  move,  there  is  also 
a  heaving  and  a  pressing  forward  and  back,  and, 
finally,  a  suppressing;  so,  first  of  all,  with  the  sur- 
faces of  the  corners,  four  corners  are  wholly  sup- 
pressed, and  four  corner-surfaces  come  out  promi- 
nently; thus  are  found 

first,  the  six-four-surfaced  solid, 
next  the  pure  tetrahedron. 

See  the  former  in  the  fifth  compartment  of  the 
left  middle  row,  and  the  latter  in  the  fifth  com- 
partment of  the  right  middle  row  toward  the  out- 
side, and  the  completing  forms  of  and  to  both  to 
the  left  and  right  in  the  third  box.  We  may  also 
look  upon  this  formation  as  if  it  arose  from  six 
angle-diagonals  or  oblique  lines,  touching  at  their 
ends,  which  form  edges. 

The  development  of  these  six  new  solids  and 
the  knowledge  of  their  outward  relation  to  one  an- 
other can  close  the  course  in  the  kindergarten  with 
the  sixth  year.  The  reverse  course,  which  is  almost 
easier  than  this,  can,  however,  be  also  given,  and 
the  cube,  the  cube  with  its  corners  replaced  by 
planes,  and  the  octahedron  may  be  formed  from 
spheres  of  soft  loam,  clay,  or  sand,  by  equal  cut- 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  291 

ting  off  of  two,  and  two,  and  two  opposite  points, 
each  two  of  which  are  opposite  to  each  other  and 
their  connecting  line  of  direction  is  at  right  angles 
to  the  two  other  connecting  lines  of  direction. 

Therefore  it  is  more  important  at  the  stage  of 
kindergarten  employment  and  training  to  raise 
that  which  can  not  be  seen  through  to  that  which 
can,  and  to  raise  that  which  is  material  to  a  less  ma- 
terial perception,  than  to  advance  to  the  solids  of  the 
edge-  and  corner-diagonal  or  oblique  lines.  So  you 
have  already  made,  with  your  little  ones,  the  square 
(each  side  as  long  as  two  of  the  edges  of  the  cube) ; 
the  rectangle  (oblong),  which  is  half  the  size  of  the 
square;  the  right-angled  isosceles  triangle,  also  one 
half  the  size  of  the  square,  divided  by  a  corner-  or 
angle-diagonal  line,  etc.  This  is  clear  to  you,  as 
you  have  already  done  it  yourself  so  many  times. 

The  outlined  cube  results  from  two  squares 
made  of  sticks  exactly  equal  in  size,  joined  by 
four  vertical  sticks  each  of  the  same  size  as  each 
stick  of  the  squares. 

The  outlined  cube  with  its  corners  replaced  by 
planes  (six-eight-surface)  originates  within  the  cube 
by  making  the  opposite  square  (i.  e.,  one-half  size) 
in  each  of  the  surfaces  of  the  outlined  cube. 

A  pointed  column  or  pyramid  composed  of  four 
equilateral  triangular  surfaces  erected  on  the  two 
opposite  sides  of  an  opposite  square  gives  you  the 
outlined  octahedron,  as  you  well  know. 


292  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

Take  six  sticks,  each  of  tke  length  of  the  corner 
diagonal  line  of  a  principal  square,  connect  each 
three  ends  of  these  lines  by  a  pea  (pieces  of  cork 
or  wax),  and,  as  you  know,  the  outlined  tetrahedron 
results. 

Now  you  know  that  all  these  bodies  with  a  com- 
mon, invisible,  middle  point  can  be  represented  in 
one  and  the  same  cube  in  an  easy  way. 

Yes,  and  with  these  representations,  their  com- 
parisons with  one  another  and  their  comparison 
with  the  collective  bodies  which  can  not  be  seen 
through — that  is,  the  solids— with  the  perceiving 
and  demonstrating  of  the  one  in  the  other,  there  is 
stated  and  included  at  this  stage  of  active  occupa- 
tion and  kindergarten  employments  an  intimation 
of  the  development  of  manifoldness  from  unity,  of 
the  invisible  from  the  visible,  of  the  inner  from 
the  outer,  and  the  reverse — that  is,  the  development 
of  perception  from  conception  and  thought,  of 
thought  from  action,  of  conception  from  desire 
(will),  etc.  The  child  is  ripe  for  entering,  and  is 
quite  sufficiently  developed  to  enter  the  connecting 
school.  He  stands  on  its  threshold,  before  the 
door.  The  child  steps  into  the  connecting  school. 
(The  child  of  the  kindergarten  is  now  a  little  boy 
or  a  little  girl.) 

That  which  was  the  keystone  of  the  kindergar- 
ten training  is  now  the  starting  point  of  the  first 
stage    of   the    connecting    school — the    particular, 


< 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  293 

individual,  and  objective  perceptions  of  thought. 
Therefore, 

Opposite  to  unity  is  singleness. 

to  singleness   "  manifoldness. 

to  the  outer     "  the  inner. 

to  the  visible  "  the  invisible. 

to  the  simple  "  the  complex. 

to  the  round   "  the  straight. 

to  motion         "  rest. 

to  the  whole    "  the  divided. 

to  the  single    "  the  composite. 

to  the  quiet  and  abiding  inner  being  is  the  out- 
ward appearance,  the  becoming. 

to  the  outward  grouping  is  the  inward  coher- 
ence. 

to  the  outward  combination  is  the  inner  devel- 
opment. 

to  the  passing  appearance  is  the  abiding  effect. 

to  the  mere  effect  is  the  life. 

to  life  "  the  living. 

to  the  living  "  the  sensible. 

to  the  sensible         "  the  rational. 

to  the  unconscious  "  the  conscious. 

We  can  add  as  a  connection :  to  unconsciousness,  coming 
consciousness. 

To  coming  consciousness,  consciousness. 

To  the  mute  and  yet  speaking  form,  the  clear,  speaking 
uttered,  audible  word.* 

You  see,  my  dear  Emma,  that  the  child  passes 
from  the  kindergarten  into  the  connecting  school, 
being  skilled  in  and  capable  of  quite  precise  per- 
ception and  conception  of  all  these  contrasts.    These 

*  The  life  and  works  of  man  are  opposite  to  the  life  and 
works  of  Nature,  etc. 
21 


294  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

contrasts  can  and  should  be  brought  to  the  child's 
observation  as  opportunity  offers  and  necessity  re- 
quires, but  this  should  always  be  done  in  a  se- 
quence similar  to  one  of  those  indicated.  Now 
see  with  what  a  foundation,  with  what  a  ground- 
work, with  what  an  amount  of  germs  of  life  in  the 
collected  material  of  life  the  child  passes  from  the 
kindergarten  into  the  connecting  school.  At  no 
point  of  life  is  the  leading  direction  lacking.  The 
germ  for  each  development  required  by  life  is  pro- 
vided, as  is  shown  in  the  great  whole  of  iffature. 
All  this  awaits  only  the  development  from  uncon- 
sciousness through  coming  consciousness  to  con- 
sciousness, and  this  is  the  task  of  the  preparatory 
school;  the  keystone  of  the  kindergarten  is,  as  I 
have  before  stated,  the  first  stage  of  the  prepara- 
tory (connecting)  school. 

The  nature  and  character  of  the  connecting 
school  are  in  many  ways  clearly  indicated;  the 
particular  is  advanced  to  generality,  the  outward 
isolated  perception  to  an  inner  total  conception — for 
example,  one  and  the  same  child  lets  the  ball  jump 
from  his  closed  hands  into  free  space  in  different 
parts  of  the  schoolroom,  and  he  himself  moves  in 
three  principal  directions  (at  right  angles  to  one 
another),  there,  here;  forward,  back;  up,  down;  or 
several  children  do  this  in  succession  with  a  ball 
attached  to  a  string,  or  several  do  it  at  the  same 
time.     Suffice  it  to  say  that  in  all  these  cases  the 


THE  CONNECTINa  SCHOOL.  295 

general  result,  and  the  recognition  of  tliat  result, 
are  as  follows: 

Everywhere  in  space  I  can  think  of  three  prin- 
cipal directions  intersecting  one  another  at  one 
point  at  right  angles;  or, 

The  general  surrounding  space  can  be  deter- 
mined and  measured  bj  three  principal  directions 
at  right  angles  to  one  another. 

The  form  of  each  object  which  fills  space  can 
be  defined  according  to  length,  width,  and  height 
or  thickness. 

The  thoughtful  observer  of  language  is  here 
met  by  a  connection  of  the  designation  by  speech 
and  the  mute  perception  of  fact;  wide  and  widen- 
ing— thick  and  massive  * — length  and  length- 
ening. 

The  form  of  a  body,  the  actual  form  of  an  ob- 
ject, is  determined  by  the  form,  position,  number, 
size,  union  or  separation  of  the  surfaces,  edges,  or 
corners.     Hence  the  indispensable  requirement  for 
the  abstract  (drawn  away),  reflective,  comparing 
consideration  of  all  the  just-named  references  and 
relations  to  the  filling  of  space;  hence  introduction 
into  the  science  of  space, 
into  the  science  of  form, 
into  the  science  of  number,  and 
into  the  science  of  size, 

*  The  German  words  for  thick  and  massive  (dick,  dicht)  are 
also  similar. — Tr. 


296  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT, 

but  also  further 

into  the  science  and  art  of  i        i    . 

(  and  sign. 

The  consideration  of  the  fourteen  solids  intro- 
duces you  now  to  all  these  above-named,  particular, 
independent,  and  isolated  considerations  and  exer- 
cises, again  and  again,  if  you  will  only  connect  the 
continually  progressive  exposition  of  the  fourteen 
solids  with  what  has  been  presented  and  stated  in 
the  Education  of  Man  and  in  other  essays  found 
in  this  and  the  former  volume,"^  and,  having  done 
so,  if  you  will  then,  proceeding  from  the  cube, 
analyze  it  in  its  individual  parts  and  will  elevate 
their  individual  perception,  as  has  been  already 
said  many  times,  to  general  conceptions — if  you 
will  therefore  descend  from  cubes  to  tablets  and 
surfaces  and  from  the  edges  of  the  cube  to  lines  and 
sticks. 

I  entirely  lack  both  time  and  space  to  demon- 
strate all  these  facts  individually  in  this  place,  and 
a  mere  inanimate  verbal  perception  would  be  of 
little  use.  I  must  here  request  you  to  continue  to 
develop  independently  and  intellectually  what  the 
kindergarten  has  given  you  on  this  subject. 

You  can  carry  on  the  instruction  in  numbers  in 
their  rudimentary  compass  from  the  knowledge  of 
the  individual  numbers  and  their  difference  up  to 

*  Vol.  XXX,  International  Education  Series. 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  297 

teaching  their  relations  and  proportions;  from  the 
stage  of  perception  up  to  that  of  intellectual  con- 
ception. The  instruction  concerning  the  form  and 
size  of  solids,  surfaces,  and  lines  likewise  proceeds 
from  the  perception  of  them  to  the  intellectual  con- 
ceptions of  form  and  size,  and  their  inner  recipro- 
cal relations  to  one  another,  but  this  instruction 
also  should  be  within  the  general,  fundamental 
compass. 

The  perception  and  comprehension  of  form, 
size,  number,  in  general  of  figure,  lead  to  the  per- 
ception, comprehension,  and  knowledge  of  the  sur- 
rounding world — in  short,  to  the  consideration  of 
the  outer  world. 

The  consideration  of  the  outer  world  in  its  pri- 
mary conception  constitutes  a  principal  subject  of 
the  connecting  school.  Here  also  I  can  refer  only 
to  the  Education  of  Man,  by  Friedrich  Froebel, 
although  in  the  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
which  has  elapsed  since  the  book  was  written  and 
published  the  mode  of  treating  this  subject  has  been 
manifoldly  improved  and  simplified.  This  consid- 
eration of  the  outside  world  leads  in  a  very  remark- 
able way  (which  has  not  yet  been  completed  and 
carried  through  in  the  education  of  human  beings) 
into  the  linking  together  of  the  activities  and  voca- 
tions of  man,  and  even  into  the  history  of  human 
development. 

The  consideration  of  the  outer  world  leads  just 


298  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

as  remarkably  to  the  perception  and  comprehension 
of  the  province  of  language  as  audible  and  (by 
means  of  writing)  visible  representation  of  the  out- 
ward and  inward  world  of  man.  It  includes  with- 
in itself  the  whole  fundamental  written  and  spoken 
language  of  our  mother  tongue  in  a  corresponding 
compass. 

The  tone  and  rhythm  (law  of  movement)  of 
words  and  sentences,  of  the  speech-whole,  is  here 
again  linked  with  language  in  the  elementary  song, 
and  the  elementary  exercises  in  singing. 

But  song  leads  the  child  back  again  to  Nature, 
and  thus  are  developed  from  the  general  considera- 
tion of  the  outside  world  the  actual  contemplation 
of  Nature  and  natural  science  in  their  rudimentary 
compass,  and,  in  particular,  as  an  important  germi- 
nating point  and  starting  point — the  science  of 
plants. 

With  the  science  of  plants  is  organically  and 
vividly  connected  the  science  of  the  surface  of  the 
earth. 

For  many  plants  are  fond  of  the  water  and  be- 
strew the  shore  of  the  brook  and  of  the  river,  and 
encircle  the  sources  of  both.  Many  plants  would 
fain  adorn  the  meadows  and  vales.  Many  love 
the  clear,  airy,  and  fragrant  height  of  the  hill  and 
mountain.  Many  like  the  vicinity  of  man,  and 
many,  the  simple,  hidden,  woody  vale.  The  vessel 
that  crosses  the  ocean  brings  us  many  from  distant 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  299 

parts  of  the  world.  The  steamboat  on  the  river, 
the  canal,  the  railroad,  etc.,  bring  many.  They 
are  in  the  home,  the  garden,  the  house,  and  even 
the  room  of  each  person.  Thus  the  plants  really 
show  the  way  and  lead  to  the  science  of  the  surface 
of  the  earth — the  description  of  the  earth — ^geog- 
raphy. 

But  our  kindergarten  exercises,  plays,  and  em- 
ployments are  also  a  help  here.  Our  molding  with 
plastic  loam  and  moist  sand  teaches  us  hills  and 
valleys,  and  blue  clay  and  sand  represent  to  us 
brooks,  rivers,  streams,  seas.  Yes,  our  stick-laying 
makes  the  outlines  of  these  by  indicating  the  main 
and  side  directions  of  the  brooks  and  rivers.  But 
also  our  pricking  shows  itself  to  be  of  practical  im- 
portance here,  since  it  gives  us  six  equal  maps 
which  we  can  utilize  first  as  a  map  of  rivers,  then 
a  map  of  mountains,  again  a  map  of  cities,  then  a 
map  of  States,  then  of  districts  and  provinces,  lastly 
as  the  summing  up  of  the  whole. 

With  the  consideration  of  the  outer  world,  es- 
pecially with  the  contemplation  of  the  plant  world, 
is  also  connected  the  training  of  the  sense  of  color 
and  form,  the  province  of  drawing  and  painting. 
The  observation  of  plants,  of  vegetables,  and  espe- 
cially of  trees,  is  important  for  the  connecting 
school  child  for  several  reasons.  First,  it  shows  al- 
most the  whole  fundamental  intermediate  instruc- 
tion and  most  completely  links  itself  with  this  in- 


300  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

struction.  Therefore  it  leads  all  back  to  the  be- 
ginning, the  starting  point.  It  also  leads  the 
child  (and  consequently  man)  to  himself,  to  the  de- 
velopment and  use  of  the  totality  of  his  capacities 
and  powers,  to  the  recognition  and  fostering  of  his 
nature,  to  the  connection  and  union  of  the  great 
whole  of  the  universe  and  of  life,  and  to  the  source 
of  life,  to  the  oneness  of  life,  to  God  who  is  by 
and  in  himself  good,  as  well  as  to  the  history  of 
the  inner  and  outer  development  of  humanity. 
This  history  begins  in  a  remarkable  way  with  the 
relation  of  man  to  the  tree  and  it^  fruit,  according 
to  our  Holy  Scriptures  (which  even  the  critic  ac- 
knowledges). However,  in  the  second  great  prin- 
cipal epoch  of  the  development  of  humanity,  and 
especially  in  the  early  part  of  this  epoch,  plants 
and  trees  have  again  a  great  and  remarkable  im- 
portance, and  play  the  role  of  being  present  with 
man  on  almost  all  sides  of  his  life,  uniting,  teach- 
ing, admonishing,  requiring,  so,  above  all,  uniting 
him  with  God:  "Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field.'' 

They  lead  man  back  to  and  into  himself,  to  the 
development,  the  invigorating,  and  the  right  use 
of  his  powers:  "Every  tree  which  bringeth  not 
forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down  and  cast  into  the 
fire." 

Concerning  the  relation  of  the  degree  of  moral 
cultivation  it  is  said:  "  Do  men  gather  grapes  from 
thorns,  or  figs  from  thistles?  " 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  301 

Concerning  the  action  of  Jesus  as  the  mediat- 
ing teacher  and  educator  of  humanity  between 
man  and  the  demands  of  eternal  God,  as  the  re- 
vealer  of  the  eternal  living  truth  uniting  God  and 
humanity,  it  is  said,  ''  A  sower  went  forth  to  sow/' 

Concerning  the  relation  of  man  to  Jesus,  and 
his  relation  to  humanity  it  is  said:  "I  am  the 
vine;  ye  are  the  branches." 

Concerning  the  fostering  and  the  efficiency  of 
the  truth  and  its  results  the  parable  of  the  mustard 
seed  and  its  treelike  development  was  spoken. 

But  not  merely  in  reference  to  religion  and 
to  the  Christian  religion  are  the  tree  and  the  whole 
plant  world  important  to  the  child  and  to  man. 
They  are  also  pre-eminently  important  for  us  as 
Germans,  and  for  our  children  as  German  chil- 
dren; for  is  not  the  oak,  the  German  oak,  the  sym- 
bol of  German  national  life,  and  of  the  life  of  each 
individual  German?  "  Stand  fast  in  the  storm  of 
life  like  a  German  oak!     It  stands  firm,''  etc. 

Have  not  all  our  hundreds  of  kinds  of  apples 
and  pears  (as  the  pomologists  teach  us  and  prove 
to  us)  proceeded  from  the  simple  apple  and  pear 
tree  of  the  wood,  by  means  of  the  cultivating 
care  of  man,  connected  with  his  observation  of 
N^ature,  with  observation  of  the  original,  peculiar 
nature  of  the  fruit  trees?  What  are,  therefore, 
these  cultivated  fruit  trees? 

Answer:    ^^  Works  of  God,  of  I^ature,  and  of 


302  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

humanity."  And  so  the  individual  human  being 
also  in  his  completed  education  can  only  become 
and  be  "  a  work  of  God,  Nature^  and  humanity J^ 

Thus  he  can  become  what  he  is  to  be  only  in  the 
undisturbed,  unclouded,  true  union  with  God,  Na- 
ture, and  humanity. 

With  this  awakened  anticipation,  the  boy  and 
girl  are  ripe  for  passing  from  the  connecting  school, 
or,  if  another  term  be  preferred,  the  elementary 
school,  into  the  school  of  teaching  and  thought, 
from  which  they  will  later  enter  the  last  stage — 
the  school  of  vocation  and  life. 

Therefore,  my  dear  Emma,  that  you  may  com- 
pletely fulfill  what  the  guidance  of  your  connect- 
ing school  requires,  you  must  always  have  before 
your  eyes  the  image  and  life  of  a  tree  in  its  all- 
sided  functions  and  relations;  in  that  case  you  will 
certainly  leave  none  of  your  duties  unfulfilled,  no 
talent,  no  power,  no  natural  capacity  of  your  pupil 
undeveloped. 

Whether  you  can  make  the  application  of  all 
that  has  been  here  said  to  each  and  every  require- 
ment of  your  connecting  school  is,  of  course,  a 
question  which  I  can  hardly  answer  affirmatively. 
For  I  can  not  and  may  not  actually  presuppose 
that  you  have  understood  me  throughout;  but,  as 
I  have  said,  it  is  difficult  at  this  stage  to  attain 
complete  and  all-sided  clearness  with  all-sided  ap- 
plication without  explanatory  dialogue  and  with- 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  303 

out  connecting  perception.  However,  you  see  at 
least  by  the  certainty  with  which  I  express  myself 
about  what  is  to  be  required  and  done,  that  I  es- 
teem it  possible  to  attain  to  it,  and  that  I  am 
deeply  convinced  of  the  possibility — and  it  is  some- 
thing to  know  that  one  man  has  overcome  waver- 
ing and  uncertainty,  and  has  arrived  at  clearness, 
surety,  and  confidence  upon  the  subject.  It  is  to 
be  hoped  that  this  letter  will,  or  at  least  can,  give 
you  this  certainty. 

N^ow  for  a  few  more  isolated  remarks  about  the 
box  with  the  fourteen  solids. 

1.  The  two  middle  rows  of  compartments  con- 
tain the  bodies. 

2.  The  two  outer  rows  of  compartments  con- 
tain the  completing  forms. 

3.  The  left  inner  row  of  compartments  con- 
tains the  connecting  forms  proceeding  from  the 
cube. 

4.  The  right  middle  row  of  compartments  con- 
tains the  principal  forms  from  the  cube  to  the 
sphere. 

5.  The  left  outer  row  of  compartments  con- 
tains those  forms  which  complete  the  principal 
forms  in  the  left  middle  row. 

6.  The  right  outer  row  of  compartments  con- 
tains those  forms  which  complete  the  principal 
forms  in  the  right  middle  row. 

7.  The  forms  which  complete  the  forms  of  bod- 


304:  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ies  can  be  utilized  for  quite  new,  beautiful  group- 
ings, eacb  of  which  again  presents  much  that  is 
instructive,  as  well  as  agreeable  playful  entertain- 
ment. 

8.  The  knowledge  of  the  forms  of  bodies  (or 
solids)  offers  rich  material  for  interesting  plays 
that  call  out  the  child's  power  of  recognizing  them 
by  the  senses,  especially  by  the  sense  of  touch  when 
the  eyes  are  closed  or  when  the  bodies  are  held  be- 
hind him. 

The  box  being  turned  with  its  opening  toward 
you,  the  solids  succeed  one  another  downward  from 
you  or  forward  from  the  box  in  the  following 
order : 

13.  The  double-pointed  dodecahedron. 

The  double-pointed  hexagonal  prism.  14. 
11.  The  eight  and  two  surfaced  form. 

The  eight  and  four  surfaced  form.  12. 
9.  The  four  and  six  surfaced  solid. 

The  tetrahedron.  10. 
7.  The  six  and  twelve  surfaced  form. 

The  dodecahedron.    8. 
5.  The  six  and  eight  surfaced  form. 

The  octahedron.    6. 
3.  The  geometric  cube. 

The  pierced  cube.    4. 

1.  The  sphere. 

The  cylinder.    2. 

I  hope  that  this  representation  (with  the  inter- 
twining and  the  use  of  sticks  indicated)  will  make 
you  familiar  with  the  complete  and  profitable  use 
of  this  box. 


THE  CONNECTING  SCHOOL.  305 

I  will  remark  in  addition  only  that  these  four- 
teen solids,  with  the  other  forms  indicated  therein, 
lead  you  into  the  whole  province  of  the  forms  of 
Nature  and  of  bodies,  and,  indeed,  into  three  prin- 
cipal divisions  and  series  of  development  of  these 
forms : 

1.  The  production  of  the  three  surface  direc- 
tions at  right  angles  to  one  another  in  the  forms 
1  to  10. 

2.  The  production  of  an  edge  direction  in 
each  of  the  forms  11  and  12. 

3.  The  representation  of  a  corner  direction  in 
each  of  the  forms  13  and  14,  with  which  the 
whole  production  of  bodies  closes;  but  the  devel- 
opment goes  on  through  the  forms  of  plants  and 
animals,  as  well  as  through  the  forms  of  thought. 

May  you  be  able  to  write  to  me  in  your  next 
letter  that  the  trouble  I  have  taken  and  my  sacri- 
fice of  time  have  given  you  pleasure. 

With  hearty  greetings  from  my  whole  house- 
hold to  yours. 

Your  faithful,  fatherly  friend, 

Fr.  Fr. 


XL 


A  COMPLETE   EPISTOLARY   STATEMENT   OF  THE   MEANS 
OF    EMPLOYMENT    OF    THE    KINDERGAKTEN. 

Man,  the  creature  of  God,  appears  upon  earth 
as  a  sentient,  spiritual  being,  connected,  as  a  child, 
with  the  family  by  his  parents,  and,  at  first,  di- 
rectly connected  by  his  mother.  Thus  connected, 
he  therefore  appears  as  a  member  (full  of  life  and 
soul)  of  a  family  likewise  full  of  life  and  soul. 
This  conception  of  the  child  in  his  original  nature, 
in  his  natural  connections  and  relations,  is  to  me 
the  foundation  and  the  real  starting  point  of  his  all- 
sided,  prosperous  development,  and  of  that  foster- 
ing and  education  which  satisfies  the  demands  of 
his  nature. 

Since  by  such  fostering,  education,  and  develop- 
ment the  child  obtains  not  only  his  right  position 
in  regard  to  God,  Nature,  and  humanity,  but  also 
that  position  which  satisfies  his  own  nature,  and 
consequently  obtains  his  right  position  toward  and 
in  himself,  so  does  also  the  family  with  all  its  mem- 
bers, and  with  each  individual  of  them,  above  all 
the  parents,  and  here  especially  the  mother. 
306 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  307 

Througli  such  fostering  slie  (the  mother)  ap- 
pears pre-eminently  in  her  true  nature,  her  real  po- 
sition, and  in  her  manifold  and,  to  the  child, 
important  connections,  for  first  she  stands  as  a  con- 
necting link  between  her  child  and  his  Creator,  the 
Original  Source  of  his  life — God. 

ISText  she  connects  the  child  with  her  husband, 
his  earthly  father. 

She  is  the  link  that  joins  the  child  with  the 
family  of  which  he  is  a  member. 

Through  the  family  she  unites  the  child  to  the 
human  race,  with  humanity,  and  with  each  indi- 
vidual member  of  humanity. 

The  mother  also  connects  her  child  with  the 
Mediator  between  humanity  and  God — Jesus 
Christ. 

Finally,  and  lastly,  and  in  a  special  sense,  she 
is  the  bond  of  union  between  the  child  and  Nature. 

The  mother,  as  a  real  human  Christian  mother, 
must  have  a  clear  idea  of  all  these  connective  offices, 
as  indeed  must  all  the  members  of  the  family.  She 
must  know  and  acknowledge  all  of  them.  She 
must  manage  them  all  in  a  manner  corresponding 
to  their  requirements  with  the  greatest  possible  in- 
sight, circumspection,  faithfulness  to  duty,  and  self- 
sacrifice.  She  may  not  neglect  or  subtract  from 
any  of  these  connective  offices.  For,  after  all,  they 
are  of  equal  importance,  since  they  collectively  point 
toward  the  Original  Source  of  all  existence;  be- 


308  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

cause  only  in  and  by  means  of  this  all-sided  con- 
nection does  the  child  develop  on  all  sides,  and  to- 
ward the  greatest  possible  earthly  perfection.  The 
child  is  also  to  develop  himself  at  a  future  time  to 
be  as  much  as  possible  a  complete  human  being. 
He  is  even  to  be  himself  a  connecting  link  on  all 
these  sides,  and  this  is  to  be  observed  in  his  first 
mental  activity.  Thus  the  child  is  later  to  show 
himself  especially  as  a  mediator,  reconciler,  and  re- 
deemer between  I^ature  and  God;  for,  as  a  human 
being,  he  is  connected  with  Nature  in  her  many 
characteristics  by  his  body,  and  united  with  God  by 
his  spirit;  he  is  also  linked  with  humanity  by  his 
spirit  and  by  his  body,  which  is  animated  by  his 
spirit. 

As  the  child  can  in  general  only  be  satisfac- 
torily educated  toward  his  destiny  and  the  fulfill- 
ment of  his  vocation  in  and  by  means  of  the  mani- 
fold connection  above  indicated,  so  he  develops  him- 
self first  of  all — at  first  by  the  aid  of  the  mother — 
in  and  by  means  of  the  connection  with  Nature. 

But  where  mediation  takes  place  there  is  al- 
ways identity  in  some  respects  at  the  foundation  of 
what  is  mediated,  but  the  identity  appears  in  the 
opposite  way;  or,  in  other  words,  mediation  presup- 
poses opposition  in  appearance,  but  identity  in  na- 
ture— that  is,  mediation  can  only  take  place  be- 
tween and  with  opposites  which  are  yet  identical. 

If  therefore  the  mother  is  to  educate  the  child 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  309 

by  means  of  and  in  "anion  with  Nature,  such 
an  education  presupposes  in  the  child  and  in  Nature 
that  which  is  opposite,  yet  like,  therefore  identity 
and  antithesis — in  other  words,  likeness  in  one  re- 
spect and  oppositeness  in  another. 

Likeness  conditions  union;  oppositeness  condi- 
tions a  contrast. 

But,  according  to  outward  condition,  the  child, 
as  a  human  being  and  a  mortal,  appears  at  first 
as  a  member  and  part  of  Nature.  Therefore  the 
mother  must  take  care  that  the  child  develops  in 
union  with  Nature  and  in  contrast  with  it.  For 
while  necessity  rules  on  the  part  of  Nature  man 
as  an  intellectual  being  should  sensibly  and  reason- 
ably reflect  upon  what  he  does,  and  do  it  with 
deliberation,  with  consciousness  and  intelligence, 
with  determination  of  mind  and  will.  The  con- 
trast, therefore,  here  does  not  consist  in  the  oppos- 
ing or  striving  against  Nature  or  in  that  which  is 
opposed  to  Nature.  But  the  contrast  is  that  what 
was  done  and  is  done  by  Nature  is  to  be  done  by 
man  with  intelligence,  therefore  with  reference  to 
the  undisturbed  harmonious  development  of  his  in- 
dividual self,  therefore  with  ever-constant  and  ever- 
demonstrable  reference  to  the  unclouded  and  unob- 
structed representation  of  his  personality,  the^^fore 
for  all-sided  physical  and  spiritual  health. . 

Consequently  the  care  for  the  entire  health  of 

the  child  is  the  first  thing  which  is  imposed  on  the 
22 


310  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

attention  of  the  mother  and  of  all  those  who  recog- 
nize it  as  a  duty  to  take  part  in  his  education. 

But,  as  above  intimated,  the  child  is  healthy 
when  he  can  express  and  occupy  himself  in  all  the 
demands  of  his  spirit  and  body,  in  all  his  demands 
as  a  human  being  in  a  manner  corresponding  to  his 
being  and  nature.  Therefore,  first  of  all,  the  child 
is  to  be  healthy  as  far  as  it  is  possible. 

In  order  that  the  child  may  attain  to  all-sided 
health,  and  consequently  to  connection  between 
himself  (his  essence  and  being)  and  ^Nature,  his 
body  with  its  parts  of  formation,  with  its  organs  of 
maintenance,  vivification,  and  will,  is  given  to  him. 
But  with  the  body  are.  given  the  limbs  and  senses, 
both  of  which,  in  reference  to  the  mind,  soul,  and 
will  on  one  side,  and  to  Nature,  the  outside  world, 
on  the  other,  are  again  in  contrast.  The  senses  are 
given  pre-eminently  for  the  purpose  of  enabling 
their  possessor  to  so  make  internal  and  to  appropri- 
ate the  essence  of  things  as  it  discloses  itself  in  out- 
ward appearance,  form,  movement,  tone,  etc.  The 
limbs,  on  the  contrary,  are  given  in  order  to  mani- 
fest outwardly  the  will,  the  desire  of  the  mind,  of 
the  soul.  Here  again  the  arms,  with  hands  and 
fingers,  and  the  legs,  with  feet  and  toes,  are  in  con- 
trast to  one  another:  the  arms,  etc.,  as  tools  to 
bring  surrounding  things  near  to  one's  self;  the 
legs,  etc.,  on  the  contrary,  as  implements  to  bring 
one's  self,  one's  body,  near  to  the  things;  therefore 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  311 

in  the  former  case  to  move  the  things  to  one's  self, 
and  in  the  latter  to  move  one's  self  to  the  things. 

The  hands,  with  the  fingers  and  with  the  sense 
of  touch  to  be  found  in  their  tips,  are  again  a  con- 
nection between  the  senses  and  limbs;  as,  on  the 
contrary,  the  two  arms,  with  their  hands  and  fin- 
gers, and  the  two  legs,  with  their  feet  and  toes,  are 
again  in  contrast  with  one  another. 

The  senses,  on  the  other  hand,  may  be  consid- 
ered to  correspond  to  the  three  states  of  coherence 
— solid,  liquid,  and  gaseous — or  to  the  mechanical, 
chemical,  and  dynamic. 

The  physical  and  dietetical  treatments  of  the 
child  in  their  whole  compass  depend  on  the  body 
with  all  its  parts  and  organs. 

The  limbs  and  senses  likewise  require  their  pe- 
culiar attention,  treatment,  fostering,  strengthen- 
ing, development,  exercise,  and  cultivation.  All 
this  is  important  even  for  the  stages  of  infancy  and 
childhood. 

In  reference  to  the  child's  development  of  mind, 
of  will,  of  habitude,  and  consequently  in  general 
reference  to  his  moral,  to  his  actual  human  devel- 
opment, it  is  necessary  to  observe  his  relation  to  his 
mother  and  to  all  those  who  partially  take  a  moth- 
er's place  to  him;  in  short,  to  observe  his  behavior 
to  all  which  has  an  arousing,  beneficial,  and  deter- 
mining effect  upon  him. 

The  power  and  use  of  the  child's  body,  limbs. 


312  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

and  senses  develop  correspondingly  with  this  at- 
tention and  fostering,  and  consequently  the  child's 
activity,  his  impulse  to  activity  and  even  to  em- 
ployment further  develop  with  the  growth  and  ex- 
ercise of  the  powers  before  named.  If  his  own 
little  hands  and  fingers,  the  hands  and  fingers  of 
his  nurse,  and  the  few  objects  (which  are  mostly 
but  little  movable)  which  he  can  grasp  with  his 
little  hands,  suffice  at  the  beginning  to  satisfy  his 
impulse  to  activity,  yet  very  soon  after  his  little 
arms  and  hands  are  somewhat  developed  he  requires 
for  handling  an  object  which  he  can  move  and  use 
quite  freely  and  easily. 

-^  The  retroactive  effect  on  the  child  which  be- 
comes perceptible  through  his  use  of  objects  is 
in  the  beginning  merely  a  twofold  one,  the  testing, 
as  it  were,  of  the  things  around  him  as  to  their  in- 
dependent existence  and  also  as  to  their  free  mova- 
bility,  and  second,  the  exercise  and  the  feeling  of 
his  own  power.  The  first  plaything  which  is  now  to 
be  given  to  the  child  must  also  be  constituted  in 
conformity  with  this  effect.  It  must  be,  as  it  were, 
the  representative  (complete  within  itself)  of  all 
objects  existing  in  space,  and  consequently  must 
itself  contain  the  collective  general  properties  of 
these  objects.  Yet  further,  in  order  to  suffice  for  all 
that  is  required  of  such  a  plaything  as  the  first,  it 
must  neither  be  able  to  do  harm  to  the  child,  nor 
may  the  child  be  able  to  injure  himself  or  any- 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  313 

thing  else  with  it.  But  the  object  can  neither  be 
permitted  to  excite  and  nourish  the  sensuality  of 
the  child  nor  to  awaken  any  other  wrong  tendencies 
of  mind  or  heart,  etc. 

All  these  requirements  are  met,  as  has  been  al- 
ready demonstrated  and  declared  in  many  places, 
by  a  moral  talisman,  so  to  speak — the  ball. 

But  this  is  not  the  place  to  further  demonstrate 
the  developing,  educating,  cultivating  effect  of  this 
first  plaything  and  its  capacity  for  exhaustively  sat- 
isfying this  stage  of  the  child's  development.  Suf- 
fice it  to  say  that  in  and  by  the  ball  are  represented 
all  the  essential  properties,  phenomena,  and  re- 
lations of  the  child's  surroundings — namely,  mate- 
rial, form  and  figure,  size,  movability  and  rest,  all 
kinds  of  movement,  all  kinds  of  relations  of  space 
and  time,  and  also  the  phenomena  of  light  and  even 
color.  It  (the  ball)  is  the  true  means  of  exercising, 
increasing,  and  recognizing  the  child's  own  strength 
and  dexterity.  It  is  a  means  of  introduction  to 
knowledge  of  the  general  properties  of  objects,  their 
use  and  relation;  and  of  training  the  little  one  in 
language,  which  is  important  to  his  connection 
with  the  surrounding  world  and  to  his  intellectual 
development.  The  further  harmonious  and  intel- 
lectual development  by  the  play  with  the  ball,  con- 
nected with  tone,  rhythm,  and  song,  can  actually  be 
recognized  only  by  one's  own  judicious  employment 
of  the  ball  in  play  with  the  child,  and  can  only  be 


314  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

perceived  by  means  of  one's  own  contemplation  of 
the  play. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  play  with  the  ball  as 
a  type — that  is,  a  means  of  representation  of  the 
child's  own  inner  world  and  as  a  means  of  appre- 
hension and  recognition  of  the  outside  world  around 
him — attracts  the  young  human  being  through  his 
whole  later  youth. 

Let  us  here  go  back  to  the  earliest  life  of  child- 
hood. 

As  the  child's  power  and  the  use  of  that  power 
in  the  indicated  way  increases,  he  seeks — in  order 
also  to  hear  the  expression  of  his  activity — for  a 
body  which  also  sounds,  or  at  least  makes  a  noise, 
but  which  has  otherwise  the  same  many-sided  prop- 
erties as  the  ball.  This  solid  is  the  hard,  firm 
sphere.  At  the  same  time  with  the  sphere,  the 
child  wishes  for,  and  the  nature  of  the  sphere  re- 
quires, an  object  which  is  its  pure  opposite.  With- 
out going  through  with  the  proofs  of  the  fact  on  all 
sides  and  individually,  I  will  state  that  this  object 
is  the  many-surfaced,  many-edged,  many-cornered, 
firmly  resting,  firmly  standing,  not  easily  movable 
cube,  idle,  as  it  were,  only  able  to  be  shoved  and 
thrown,  but  incapable  of  actual  rolling. 

But  sphere  and  cube  are  purely  and  manifoldly 
opposite  to,  yet  like  one  another — a  fact  which 
may  be  easily  perceived  and  yet  more  easily  dem- 
onstrated.    But  Nature  and  the  child's  all-sided 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  315 

nature  require  for  such  objects  that  the  connec- 
tion be  likewise  easily  perceptible  and  just  as  easily 
demonstrable.  This  connection  of  opposites  is  just 
what  gives  the  constancy,  and  by  means  of  this 
constancy  the  developing,  educating,  and  cultivat- 
ing effect  of  the  child's  requirements,  plays,  and 
occupations. 

The  connection  between  the  rolling,  round-sur- 
faced sphere  which  can  be  easily  moved  and  turned 
on  all  sides,  and  the  straight-surfaced  cube  which 
is,  so  to  speak,  idle,  is  the  cylinder,  easily  rolling 
like  the  sphere  and  standing  firmly  like  the  cube, 
therefore  uniting  round  and  straight. 

But  since  the  cylinder  excludes  the  perception 
of  the  corner,  and  the  definite  turning  round  itself 
on  one  point,  it  requires  and  conditions  again  the 
solid  which  connects  the  three — that  is,  has  the 
properties  of  all  three:  corners  (points),  edges 
(lines),  sides  (surfaces) — and  here  again  uniting 
straight  and  curved  surfaces.    This  is  the  cone. 

With  these  four  solids  consequently  the  second 
play-whole  of  the  child  is  closed.  They  form  a 
whole,  complete  within  itself,  for  all  four  have 
three  equal  lines  of  direction  inclined  toward  one 
another  at  right  angles.  But  they  are  different  or 
opposite  according  to  the  manner  in  which  these 
three  principal  directions  are  abiding  and  visible. 
Thus  in  the  sphere  they  are  changing  and  invisible. 
In  the  cube,  on  the  contrary,  each  of  them  is  once 


316  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

invisible;  again  each  is  four  times  outwardly  visible; 
but  likewise,  also,  each  is  four  times  invisibly  visi- 
ble— that  is,  it  is  invisible  in  itself,  especially  to 
outward  and  superficial'  observation,  but  can  be 
made  visible  by  bringing  it  to  attention.  From 
this  property  not  only  do  the  rest  of  the  opposite 
properties  of  these  four  bodies  necessarily  proceed, 
but  those  properties  are  also  in  the  highest  degree 
important  for  the  child's  intellectual  development, 
particularly  for  the  development  of  his  power  of 
imagination,  and  for  the  development  of  the  inner 
perception  and  conception  of  the  invisible.  The 
invisibly  visible  lines  are  here  again  for  the  child, 
in  a  particularly  instructive  way,  the  connection 
between  the  never  visible  lines  always  hidden  in 
the  interior  and  those  which  are  always  outwardly 
visible  as  edges. 

Several  other  points  belonging  to  this  subject, 
proceeding  from  the  comparison  of  these  four  solids 
with  one  another,  and  highly  important  for  the  fun- 
damental and  wise  cultivation  and  education  of  the 
child,  can  not  here  be  brought  forward  and  carried 
out,  but  must  be  left  for  verbal  demonstration  ac- 
companied by  actual  perception  of  the  objects. 

Still  more  important,  on  account  of  direct  ap- 
plication and  performance  at  this  stage  of  child- 
hood, is  the  intimation  of  the  use  of,  and  the  method 
of  playing  with  these  solids.  This  method  for  the 
first  and  earlier  stage  of  childhood  is  merely  the 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  317 

moving  of  these  objects,  tlie  results  and  phenomena 
of  which  appear  so  very  manifold,  often  so  unex- 
pected and  astonishing,  so  wonderful  and  almost 
magical,  that  they,  just  because  they  can  not  be  at 
once,  or  at  least  not  easily,  explained  to  the  child, 
give  him  such  great  pleasure,  yet  teach  him  that 
which  is  important  in  fitting  him  for  life — to  make 
a  distinction  between  the  thing  or  being  and  its  ap- 
pearance, and  thus  to  protect  himself  from  de- 
lusion. 

By  means  of  this  manifestation  of  form  and 
movement  these  solids  and  the  play  with  them  give 
many  opportunities  for  the  observation  and  con- 
sideration of  form,  size,  and  number  (particularly 
for  a  somewhat  advanced  stage  of  childhood),  and 
in  many  ways  introduce  the  child  into  the  phe- 
nomena of  Nature  and  life  around  him.  They  are 
therefore,  as  it  were,  the  middle  point  and  source  of 
the  later  training  for  school  and  life,  as  well  as  for 
the  union  of  these. 

As  a  sheet  of  printed  matter,  besides  a  litho- 
graphed plate  "^  and  a  pamphlet  of  one  hundred 
ball  songs  give  directions  for  the  use  of  the  ball 
''  as  the  first  plaything  and  always  the  dearest  play- 
mate of  the  child,''  so  also  a  sheet  of  printed  mat- 
ter,   besides    a    lithographed    plate,  f    gives    some 


*  Printed  in  vol.  xxx,  International  Education  Series. 
t  Also  in  vol.  xxx,  International  Education  Series. 


318  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

guidance  to  the  use  of  the  sphere  and  cube,  "  the 
children's  delight."  The  most  essential  points, 
however,  must  be  left  for  verbal  communication. 

Much  as  this  quartet  of  playthings  has  been 
opposed  and  ridiculed  from  ignorance,  unskillful- 
ness,  and  want  of  comprehension  of  its  nature,  yet 
I  can  not  refrain  from  distinctly  declaring  that 
I  consider  this  gift  to  be  as  suitable  as  it  is  en- 
tertaining and  instructively  educating,  not  only 
for  this  early  stage  of  childhood,  but  progressively 
up  to  the  school  age,  and  I  am  willing  and  ready  to 
give  manifold  proof  for  the  assertion,  by  showing 
results  as  well  as  by  words.  This  assertion  is  espe- 
cially confirmed  by  the  personal  experience  of  every 
one. 

I  could  not  omit  this  explanation  here  because 
it  might  otherwise  have  seemed  as  if  I  wished  to 
ignore  these  criticisms  on  account  of  my  inability  to 
refute  them,  which,  however,  is  done  without  any 
polemical  words  by  the  facts  themselves  at  each 
simple  presentation. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  development  of  the 
play-gifts  and  the  modes  of  playing. 

All  the  playthings  hitherto  considered  are  undi- 
vided. Yet,  as  before  mentioned,  the  child  likes  the 
change  to  the  opposite.  As  he  in  the  beginning 
likes  to  use  everything  as  a  ball,  so  he  later  likes  to 
divide  everything  as  far  as  his  strength  allows.  He 
also  likes  to  build  together  again  what  is  thus  di- 


KINDERaARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  319 

vided;  or,  as  is  beautifully  and  significantly  said, 
"  the  child  likes  to  provide  himself  with  something 
to  create."  This  impulse  of  the  child  to  form  and 
create  is  above  all  to  be  most  carefully  and  con- 
stantly fostered,  for  the  more  he  himself  creates 
from  and  by  himself  with  his  own  power  and  spirit 
in  independent  activity  and  judgment,  the  more 
will  he  at  some  future  time  understand  himself, 
surrounding  Nature,  the  Creator  of  both,  and  life 
in  its  growth  and  in  its  tranquil  appearance,  and 
the  better  will  he  understand  the  instruction  and 
teaching  of  all  this  and  its  application  to  his  own 
action. 

The  next  plaything  must  therefore  be  divisible 
at  least  once,  but  on  all  sides  and  in  all  directions. 
These  requirements  are  met  by  the  cube,  once  di- 
vided but  on  all  sides,  and  so  into  eight  equal  part- 
cubes — the  third  play-gift,  "  the  children's  joy.'' 

If  I  am  not  mistaken,  I  have  already  intimated 
that  each  following  plaything  is  necessarily  presup- 
posed in  and  required  by  the  preceding;  thus,  the 
three  times  four  edges  of  the  cube  are  shown  in  the 
three  principal  directions  of  the  sphere,  and  the 
six  surfaces  of  the  cube  in  the  six  terminal  points 
of  those  three  directions.  Likewise  the  undivided 
cube,  by  its  three  surface  directions  at  right  angles 
to  one  another,  shows  the  three  planes  of  division, 
each  of  which  goes  through  the  middle  of  the  cube 
parallel  with  two  of  its  sides,  which  in  the  third 


320  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

play-gift  appear  as  actual  surfaces  of  division,  and 
thus  separate  the  cube  into  the  eight  part-cubes  al- 
ready named. 

The  different  plays  with  this  gift  are  condi- 
tioned by  the  different  ways  of  separating  and  re- 
grouping it.  It  is  therefore  essential  to  consider 
two  points  as  belonging  to  the  nature  of  the  mode 
of  playing:  first,  it  is  necessary  that  all  the  eight 
cubes  must  always  be  used  for  each  representa- 
tion; second,  that  as  much  as  possible  the  following 
form  must  be  so  developed  and  shaped  from  the 
preceding,  that  what  is  already  formed  must  serve 
in  a  certain  respect  as  the  foundation  and  means  of 
representation  of  the  following  form. 

But  the  forms  thus  made  show  a  threefold  char- 
acter, each  part  of  which  is  essentially  different 
from  the  others.  On  account  of  this  character  the 
forms  are  distinguished  as  forms  of  knowledge,  rec- 
ognition [apperception],  or  learning,  as  forms  of 
life  or  building,  and  as  forms  of  beauty  or  picture 
forms.  It  is  essential  to  the  development  and  train- 
ing of  the  child  that  this  distinction  be  retained, 
though  intermediate  forms  again  connect  the 
separated. 

Each  of  these  representations  is  connected  with 
the  explaining  word,  so  that  the  child's  conceptions 
may  be  definite.  "Wherever  it  is  possible  the  rep- 
resentations should  be  also  connected  with  the 
rhythmical  word  and  with  melody,  so  that  the  child 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  321 

may  definitely  and  pleasurably  retain  the  represen- 
tation; for  the  heart,  as  well  as  the  body  and  intel- 
lect, is  to  be  taken  into  account  and  nourished  by 
these  plays. 

Sufficient  guidance  is  given  for  the  use  of  this 
play-gift  by  the  essays  and  by  eleven  plates  in 
the  former  volume/^  and  by  one  hundred  little 
rhymes  and  verses  for  the  forms  of  life  (or  building 
forms),  seventy-one  songs  and  rhymes  for  the  forms 
of  beauty  (or  picture  forms),  and  twenty-two  for 
the  forms  of  knowledge  (or  learning  forms),  and 
also  by  a  third  play-gift  managed  by  the  assistance 
of  a  leaflet  giving  directions  for  its  use — to  which 
all  readers  are  here  referred. 

In  all  these  representations  the  three  different 
principal  directions  come  forth  in  space  as  length, 
breadth,  and  thickness,  or  height,  length,  and 
breadth,  but  capable  of  change  and  alteration.  Ac- 
cording to  the  law  of  development,  that  the  later 
may  be  contained  in  the  earlier,  or  that  the  follow- 
ing may  come  from  the  preceding,  and  consequent- 
ly also  according  to  the  progressing  development 
of  the  child  itself,  this  fact  determines  the  next 
plaything. 

But  how  does  this  next  plaything  result  simply 
and  necessarily  from  the  third  play-gift?  Each  of 
the  four  equal  columnar  parts,  into  which  one  can 

*  Vol.  XXX,  International  Education  Series. 


322  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

imagine  the  principal  cube  separated,  appears  to 
be  divided  in  the  third  play-gift  into  two  equal 
cubes  by  a  plane  which  passes  through  the  middle 
of  the  column  parallel  to  its  two  end-surfaces. 
Each  of  these  four  columnar  parts  is  divided,  in 
this  following  play-gift,  by  a  plane  which  passes 
through  the  middle  of  the  column,  but  parallel  to 
two  of  its  side  surfaces,  into  two  equal  but  brick- 
shaped  parts,  the  three  different  principal  directions 
of  which  now  show,  also,  as  length,  breadth,  and 
thickness,  three  abidingly  different  dimensions 
which  bear  the  relations  to  one  another  of  four,  two, 
and  one.  Thus  results  the  fourth  play-gift — the 
cube  divided  into  eight  little  building  blocks,  "  the 
children's  favorite  building  material." 

By  the  slight  alteration  in  the  direction  of  the 
plane  of  division  just  indicated,  this  plaything  ob- 
tains a  double  extent  of  surface  and  length,  and  it 
can  inclose  a  hollow  space  the  volume  of  which  is 
more  than  twelve  times  that  of  the  eight  part-cubes. 
The  representations  with  this  gift  (now,  of  course, 
likewise  according  to  the  three  different  aspects 
indicated  in  the  former  paragraphs)  obtain  by  this 
alteration  an  almost  incredible  variety  by  no  means 
to  be  exhausted  by  experiment,  but  yet  legitimate 
and  demonstrable. 

As  is  the  case  with  the  third  play-gift,  the  forms 
represented  by  the  fourth  are  of  three  different 
kinds — forms  of  knowledge  (recognition)  or  learn- 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS. 


323 


ing    [apperception],   forms  of  beauty   or  picture 
forms,  and  forms  of  life  or  building  forms. 

The  tablet  form  in  which  the  three  different 
lines  of  direction  at  right  angles  to  one  another 
come  out,  made  its  appearance  in  the  object  repre- 
sented with  the  third  play-gift;  but  whereas  those 
lines  vanished  again  as  they  originated,  they  were 
abidingly  retained  by  the  building  blocks  of  the 
fourth  gift.  The  oblique  line  of  direction  also  ap- 
pears in  the  further  representations  with  the  third 
play-gift,  but  alterably;  yet  this  line  of  direction  is 
also  required  to  be  abiding,  as  it  is  essential  to  form 
and  building,  and  is  therefore  also  indispensably  re- 
tained as  a  form  in  play.  This  is  done  in  the  fifth 
play-gift  in  which  a  double  advance  appears,  first, 
from  the  cube  of  the  third  play-gift  once  divided  on 
all  sides,  to  the  cube  twice  divided  on  all  sides. 


-M^ 


Since  the  law  of  the  three  now  comes  out  in  this 
cube,  three  cubes  in  one  of  the  thirds  of  the  twenty- 
seven  part-cubes  remain  undivided  (a) ;  three  cubes 
are  each  divided  by  a  diagonal  line  into  two  trian- 
gular columns  (h) ;  and  each  of  the  three  other  cubes 
is  divided  by  two  diagonal  lines  into  four  columns  of 


324:  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  same  kind  (c),  eacli  of  which  is  one  fourth  of 
a  part-cube,  as  each  of  the  larger  columns  is  one 
half  of  such  a  cube.  By  this  division  the  oblique 
or  diagonal  line  of  direction  is  caused  to  be  fixed  in 
variously-shaped  solids. 

The  representations  with  this  fifth  play-gift  are 
highly  important  in  each  of  the  three  principal 
kinds,  forms  of  knowledge,  beauty,  and  life,  which 
have  been  many  times  named.  These  representa- 
tions are  likewise  as  entertaining  as  they  are  in- 
structive and  cultivating.  For  lack  of  directions 
and  the  absence  of  the  gift  itself  nothing  can  be 
said  about  them  here  except  that  they  introduce 
the  child  into  school  and  life  just  as  much  as  they 
strengthen  and  develop  his  mind  and  spirit. 

As  a  fourth  gift  developed  above  parallel  to 
the  third,  so  a  sixth  play-gift  develops  parallel  to 
the  fifth.  In  the  sixth  gift,  as  in  the  fourth,  the 
brick  shape  is  the  one  determined  by  the  law  of 
development,  and  the  number  becomes  apparent  by 
a  similar  division  to  that  of  the  fifth  gift. 

This  gift  has  the  peculiarity  that  by  it  hollow 
spaces  and  columnar  erections  particularly  can  be 
represented.  It  has  the  likeness  to  the  fifth  gift 
in  that  forms  of  beauty,  the  fundamental  percep- 
tion or  position  of  which  is  the  square  or  the  trian- 
gle, can  be  made  with  it. 

Being  necessarily  and  manifoldly  conditioned, 
the  seventh  gift  results  from  the  fifth,  since  the 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  325 

cube  is  divided  three  times  on  each  side,  so  into 
four  times  four  times  four,  or  into  sixty-four  cubes. 
Several  of  these  part-cubes  are  again  divided,  from 
the  middle  and  through  the  middle,  into  oblique- 
surfaced  equal  parts,  one  half,  one  third,  one 
fourth,  one  sixth.  By  arranging  them  together  in 
reference  to  a  common  center  the  most  important 
polyhedrons,  the  octahedron  and  dodecahedron, 
can  be  represented  as  if  their  germs  existed  in  the 
interior  of  the  cube,  and,  as  it  were,  developed 
from  it.  This  play-gift  is  highly  important,  since 
some  polyhedrons,  although  at  first  only  in  outward 
form,  appear  as  if  conditioned  in  and  required  by 
the  interior — the  middle  of  the  gift. 

The  seventh  play-gift  goes  side  by  side  with  the 
eighth,  which  is  related  to  the  seventh  as  the  sixth 
is  to  the  fifth  and  the  fourth  to  the  third.  The 
further  development  of  the  eighth  gift  is  not  given 
here. 

As  a  review  of  the  whole,  and  for  the  harmo- 
nizing and  understanding  of  the  annexed  review, 
there  need  only  be  said  that,  by  the  industrious  use 
of  the  body,  limbs,  and  senses,  and  the  plays  which 
proceed  from  it,  the  first  series  of  the  employments 
and  plays  of  children  is  given. 

The  ball,  which  can  be  used  in  so  many  ways, 
forms  the  first  series  of  children's  playthings. 

The  sphere,  cube,  cylinder,  and  cone  form  to- 
gether the  second  series. 
23 


326  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  third*  fifth,  and  seventh  gifts  form  the 
series  of  cubical  forms  and  the  forms  used  in  play 
which  evolve  from  the  cubical.  They  thus  form 
the  third  series  of  children's  playthings. 

The  fourth,  sixth,  and  eighth  gifts  form  the 
series  of  the  brick  shape,  or  the  fourth  series  of 
children's  playthings. 

I  With  the  development  of  the  solid  forms  and 
their  division,  which  are  especially  the  subject  of 
I  the  last-named  series  of  plays,  the  conception  of 
/  the  surface,  as  independent  of  and  abstracted  from 
the  solid,  now  also  appears,  and,  like  the  former 
solids,  shows  itself  as  an  attractive  plaything  for 
children,  especially  if  color  be  connected  with  it  as 
emphasizing  the  independence  of  the  surface. 
Thus  necessarily  appears  a  new  division  of  the 
developing,  educating  plays  for  children — plays 
which  arouse  the  child's  creative  power.  These  are 
the  tablet-formed  surfaces,  which  are  again  divided 
into  four  different  series: 

A.  The  series  of  square  tablets,  consisting  of 
eight  square  tablets  of  two  colors  each. 
/  B.  The  series  of  right-angled  isosceles  trian- 

'  gles,  consisting  of  five  gifts:  the  first  of  four,  the 
second  of  eight,  the  third  of  twelve,  the  fourth  of 
sixteen,  the  fifth  of  sixty-four  right-angled  isosceles 
triangles. 

C.  The  series  of  equilateral  triangles,  consist- 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  327 

ing  of  five  gifts:  the  first  of  nine,  the  second  of 
eighteen,  the  third  of  twenty-seven,  the  fourth  of 
thirty-six,  the  fifth  of  fifty-four  equilateral  trian- 
gles. 

Finally, 

D.  The  series  of  right-angled  scalene  triangles, 
consisting  of  one  gift  with  fifty-six  such  triangles. 
With  this  gift  also  obtuse-angled  isosceles  triangles 
can  be  represented,  thus  completing  the  representa- 
tion of  all  the  principal  kinds  of  triangles. 

The  derivation  of  these  plays  from  those  before 
existing  can  not  here  be  carried  through,  yet  it  is 
quite  clear  to  the  thinker  and  to  him  who  has 
a  conception  of  the  manifold  in  its  unity. 

In  this  creative  means  of  employment  the  laws 
of  development  and  unfolding  from  the  inner,  from 
the  opposite  through  the  connecting  forms,  are  es- 
pecially prominent  in  the  so-called  forms  of  beauty. 
They  likewise  show  clearly — proceeding  from  sim- 
ple unity,  and  going  on  by  opposites  and  their  con- 
nections— the  return  to  unity,  in  this  way  running 
through  the  necessary  series  of  experiences,  the  in- 
dispensable condition  of  knowledge,  the  necessary 
conditions,  as  it  were,  of  becoming  conscious  and  of 
later  consciousness. 

These  plays  show  in  various  ways  how  move- 
ment can  develop  the  contrasts  from  the  legitimate 
regulated  connection.  They  are  especially  im- 
portant on  account  of  the  classical,  normal,  sufii- 


328  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

cing  spirit  applicable  to  the  life  of  Nature  and  of 
man  which  is  expressed  by  them,  and  because  they 
clearly  place  before  the  child,  one  might  say  within 
his  grasp,  the  laws  of  their  origin  in  their  results, 
as  well  as  in  their  beginnings;  and  thus  conduce  to 
the  regular,  harmonious,  intellectual,  and  uniform 
development  of  the  little  one. 

With  this  gift,  as  with  the  four  preceding  ones, 
in  the  representations  the  threefold  order  of  forms 
of  life,  beauty,  and  knowledge  is  rendered  promi- 
nent, and  here  the  exercises  in  color,  especially  with 
A,  are  added.  The  relations  of  form,  size,  and 
color  are  connected  as  in  two  of  the  preceding  gifts. 

With  the  development  of  the  tablet  and  surface 
form  and  their  further  division,  there  now  appear 
especially  the  conception  and  perception  of  lines. 
The  single  sticks  being,  as  it  were,  embodied  lines, 
show  themselves  as  an  attractive  plaything  for  chil- 
dren, and  form  a  whole  new  division  of  the  develop- 
ing means  of  play  and  employment. 

The  plays  with  the  straight,  unconnected  sticks 
show  again  the  greatest  variety. 

First,  they  can  be  form-plays — that  is,  repre- 
sentations of  figures  and  objects  connected  with 
number,  in  which  form  preponderates  and  number 
is  subordinate.  What  can  I  not  represent  with 
three  sticks  of  equal  length ! 

Second,  they  can  also  be  genuine  number- 
plays,  connected  indeed  with  form,  but  where  the 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  329 

number  is  the  principal  consideration.  For  in- 
stance, in  liow  many  different  positions  and  se- 
quences can  the  series  of  number  from  one  to  three 
be  laid  with  sticks  of  equal  length?     Behold: 

-__|       _         JIL_      — _  V  _- 

~~~i'i~""   ~~^l'r~~    """I'l""" 
III  .     I  III 

Third,  they  can  be  plays  for  the  perception 
and  comprehension  of  linear  and  surface  sizes,  espe- 
cially for  the  relative  position  and  inclination  of 
the  lines;  for  example,  connection  of  vertical  and 
horizontal  lines  (sticks)  where  the  horizontal  is  just 
as  long,  or  two  or  three  times  as  long,  as  the  ver- 
tical; for  example,  | | ,  etc.   Or  so  that 

the  horizontal  stick  is  one  half,  one  third,  etc.,  of  ^ 
the  vertical.     For  example: 


L    L 


In  like  manner  with  squares,  or  rather  rec- 
tangles : 

D      cm   czn      [] 

Also  the  comprehension  of  oblique  lines — that 
is,  sticks — which  may  be  compared  to  trees  bend- 
ing lower  and  lower. 


330  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  actual  childlike  way  of  playing  can  not  of 
course  be  given  here,  where  we  merely  treat  of  the 
connected  presentation  of  the  means  of  play.  With 
this  play  is  included  special  training  of  the  eye, 
and  of  the  power  of  measuring  by  the  eye.  Here 
also,  particularly  with  the  form-plays,  appear 
again  the  laws  of  formation  and  development  from 
within  of  different  forms,  conditioned  by  the  inte- 
rior, which  are  recognizable  by  the  child's  power 
of  perception  and  comprehension,  and  on  that  ac- 
count are  very  suggestive  and  important;  for  ex- 
perience and  the  repeated  expressions  of  the  child 
teach  that  he  seeks  to  recognize  in  every  phenom- 
enon its  inward  cause. 

As  a  connection  of  the  opposites,  there  develop, 
fourth,  representation  plays  and  forming  plays 
with  sticks  of  a  certain  length  and  position;  for 
example,  with  vertical  sticks  one  square  long: 


i' 


Since  now  through  all  this  the  child's  power  of 
representation  and  observation,  later  of  speech  and 
hearing,  is  developed,  so  also  through  the  tendency 
to  imitation,  through  the  necessity  and  law  of  this 
tendency,  is  developed  in  the  child  the  impulse  to 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  331 

connect  what  is  audible  and  wliat  he  has  heard 
especially  words,  with  visible  signs  written  and 
printed.  Thus  proceed  from  the  first  and  fourth 
ways  of  playing,  fifth,  the  letter  and  word  lay- 
ing, the  writing  and  reading  plays;  at  the  foun- 
dation of  which  are  the  mostly  straight-lined 
capital  Koman  or  Latin  letters  (I,  N,  V,  M,  etc.). 
In  order  to  lay  the  round  forms,  such  as  P,  straight 
sticks  are  nicked."^ 

The  plays  with  the  unconnected  sticks  were,  ac- 
cording to  this  statement,  imitation  plays,  or  plays 
of  formation,  number  plays,  plays  of  size  and  rela- 
tion, purely  form  plays,  and  finally  letter  and  word 
plays,  or,  as  it  were,  writing  and  reading  plays. 

As  now  the  color  exercises  are  particularly  con- 
nected with  the  tablets,  so  the  sign  plays  and  the 
actual  writing  and  reading  exercises  are  connected 
quite  simply  with  the  sticks. 

The  points  of  connection  at  which  to  render 
prominent,  to  observe,  and  to  practice  the  singing 
tone  are  so  numerous  that  no  special  prominence  has 
been  given  to  them  before.  This  also  has  been  the 
case  with  the  points  of  connection  for  the  observa- 
tion of  Nature  and  life,  for  the  exercises  in  speech 
and  language,  and  for  the  applications  to  the  devel- 
opment of  the  feelings  of  order,  right,  morality, 
even  of  religion,  to  the  training  of  will  and  charac- 

*  The  rings  were  afterward  used. — Tr. 


332  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

ter,  etc.  The  development,  strengthening,  and 
training  of  the  power  of  action,  of  the  family  feel- 
ing, and  of  the  feeling  of  community  or  rather  the 
general  feeling,  appeared  manifoldly  and  often,  so 
that  no  special  prominence  has  been  given  to  them 
in  the  preceding  pages.  However,  the  leader  of 
children  must  have  a  clear  and  definite  idea  of  all 
these  references  so  that  he  [or  she]  can  render  them 
prominent  and  arouse  and  foster  them  in  the  child 
whenever  opportunity  offers,  and  the  capacity  for 
receiving  them  shows  itself  in  the  child.  This  re- 
mark is  one  which  applies  to  all  these  instrumen- 
talities of  childish  play  and  employment. 

In  the  same  way  as  the  perception  of  lines 
came  out  through  the  development  and  division  of 
the  tablet  and  surface  forms,  so  also  appears,  in  and 
with  the  perception  of  lines,  the  conception  and 
perception  of  points,  partly  as  a  perception  of  fact, 
partly  as  mental  perception,  and  as  material  and 
means  of  play  for  the  children.  The  points  form 
again  a  new  division  consisting  of  these  plays  and 
means  of  play.  Objects  compact  by  themselves 
and  having  the  characteristics  of  the  point — seeds, 
pebbles,  little  leaves,  even  bits  of  paper,  etc. — can 
be  here  employed  as  representatives  of  the  point. 
This  is  therefore  the  point  of  connection  for  the 
collection  of  natural  objects,  fruits,  etc.,  as  further 
means  of  play  as  well  as  for  the  seeking  out  and 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  333 

separating  of  objects  which  are  of  a  like  kind  from 
those  which  are  unlike  and  manifold. 

Consequently  we  have  come  to  the  complete  di- 
vision and  separation,  to  the  complete  dissolution, 
and,  in  certain  respects,  to  the  spiritualizing  [ren- 
dering less  material]  of  the  solid,  since,  by  the  anal- 
ysis of  the  solid  into  the  surface,  line,  and  point,  we 
have  followed,  as  it  were,  the  development  of  a  tree, 
of  a  plant  from  the  germ — the  seed — through  the 
formation  of  stem,  branch,  and  twig,  through  the 
development  of  the  leaves  and  blossoms  up  to  that 
of  the  anthers  and  stamens,  and  even  to  the  devel- 
opment and  scattering  of  the  pollen.  Hence  we 
must  now  in  the  opposite,  yet  like  manner,  return 
on  our  path  of  collecting,  combining,  and  uniting, 
till  we  again  reach  the  first  unity. 

It  is  highly  remarkable  that  the  dividing,  the 
scattering,  immediately  conditions  unifying  and 
collecting;  that  the  separating  requires  at  once  a 
cohering.  This  coherence  (this  placing  of  the  parts 
together  to  form  a  whole)  can  now,  as  was  indicated 
in  the  former  division,  be  performed  in  various 
ways,  as,  for  instance,  by  means  of  a  pin  which  is 
stuck  into  a  suitably  soft  surface  (such  as  can  be 

pricked),  a  firmly  stretched  cloth  or  cushion,  •       , 

The  inspection  of  round  bodies,  such  as  beads  of 
different  colors  and  sizes,  also  belongs  here. 


334  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  connection  of  the  points  to  lines,  and 
through  them  to  shaping  of  forms,  is  particularly- 
expressive,  collecting,  and  unifying.  This  is  best 
done  by  a  little  ingenious  device,  by  connecting 
with  one  another  and  combining  the  perforations 
in  the  so-called  perforated  sheet.  This  perforated 
sheet  has  the  astonishing  and  new  peculiarity  that 
each  product  may  be  manifolded  (from  six  to 
twelve  fold),  as  the  sheet  when  folded  together 
many  times  is  inclosed  in  another,  on  one  side  of 
which  is  indicated  that  combination  of  points  by 
lines  which  is  to  be  represented  on  each  of  the 
leaves. 

Three  such  series  of  pricking  sheets  are  now 
prepared.  The  first  series  is  for  the  smaller,  the 
second  for  the  middle,  and  the  third  for  the  larger 
children.  The  latter  series  is  prepared  in  accord- 
ance with  the  strict  progress  from  the  easier  to  the 
more  difficult,  and  from  the  simple  to  the  com- 
plex, which  makes  it  a  preparation  and  previous 
training  for  drawing  and  for  instruction  in  draw- 
ing by  the  cultivation  of  the  measuring  power 
of  the  eye  and  that  of  the  sense  of  form  thus 
effected. 

With  the  pricking  is  also  connected  the  rep- 
resentation of  letters — as  initials  of  names — and  of 
words  in  little  sentences,  therefore  writing  and 
reading.  After  all  this  is  manifolded  by  the  prick- 
ing, that  which  is  represented  by  it  may  be  again 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  335 

brouglit  into  prominence  b j  colors ;  thus  practice  in 
colors  is  connected  with  the  pricking.  It  is  im- 
portant that  the  things  produced  should  be  used 
as  little  presents,  so  that  the  child  may  not  merely 
receive. 

As  in  the  foregoing  the  points  were  again 
united  into  lines  and  thus  to  figures,  so  in  like  man- 
ner single  sticks,  when  somewhat  extended  in 
breadth,  may  be  combined  as  strips,  at  first  to  sur- 
faces, and  later  also  to  solids.  The  first  can  be  done 
in  a  fourfold  way: 

a.  By  interlacing  somewhat  wide  and  flexible 
wooden  slats  which  are  alike  in  width  and  length. 
The  interlacing  is  either  voluntarily  taken  apart 
so  that  different  forms  may  be  made  by  the  same 
sticks,  or  the  ends  of  the  sticks  may  be  fastened 
together  by  some  means — glue,  paste,  or  wafers. 
In  this  way  model  forms  may  be  made  for  other 
children  and  institutions. 


h.  By  so-called  intertwining  of  strips  of  paper 
folded  twice,  or  even  stiff  ribbon  and  cord.  The 
results  of  the  intertwining  are  similar  to  those  of 


336  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

the  interlacing,  but  more  lasting  and  firmer;  for 
instance,  in  the  following  figure: 


c.  By  interlacing,  or  rather  weaving,  of  paper 
strips.  It  is  best  that  these  should  be  of  different 
reciprocally  completing  colors — that  is,  comple- 
mentary colors.  In  this  way  the  different  surface 
forms  may  be  again  represented.  The  result  of 
this  activity  may  be  employed,  like  figured  paper, 
to  make  or  beautify  the  most  different  objects — 
portfolios,  writing  books,  needlebooks,  cuffs,  col- 
lars, napkin  rings,  etc.,  box  covers,  covers  for 
glasses,  cushions,  etc.;  thus  again  for  various  little 
gifts  and  presents. 

The  use  which  is  made  of  these  little  products, 
as  was  mentioned  above  in  regard  to  the  pricking,  is 
very  important  to  the  civilizing,  to  the  nourishing 
of  the  child's  being  and  mind;  for  I  consider  the 
fact  that  many  children  receive  so  much  and  can 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  337 

give  hardly  anything  from  their  own  little  pro- 
ductions, to  be  one  of  the  most  essential  causes  of 
the  frequent  retrogression  of  childlike  love  and  sen- 
sibility. This  statement  must  here  suffice  as  an 
intimation  of  one  of  the  most  important  points  of 
education. 

With  increased  development  of  power  and 
under  precisely  stated  relations,  the  weaving  of 
mats  with  straw,  etc.,  and  even  basket  making,  are 
connected  with  the  weaving.  With  the  above-men- 
tioned pattern  leaves,  etc.,  this  may  become  at  once 
an  industry  for  poorer  children. 

d.  The  fourth  combination  is  that  of  slender- 
pointed  sticks  connected  by  softened  peas: 

1.  To  form  simple  figures,  triangles,  and  quad- 
rangles, but  especially  the  triangles,  in  accordance 
with  fixed  laws.  These  simple  figures  can  then 
again  be  grouped  together  in  the  most  manifold 
ways  to  form  structures,  but  likewise  according  to 
fixed  laws.  This  grouping  together  is  again  a  most 
excellent  cultivation  and  preparatory  training  of 
the  eye  for  drawing. 

2.  To  make  equal-surfaced  and  otherwise  sym- 
metrical solids  which  can  be  seen  through,  being,  as 
it  were,  only  represented  by  the  edges  in  outline; 
and — 

3.  Also  to  construct  buildings,  house,  room*,  and 
household  furnishings,  which  can  also  be  seen 
through. 


338  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

By  the  inner  combination  and  composition  of 
equal-surfaced  and  symmetrical  bodies  the  develop- 
ment of  each  following  form  from  the  preced- 
ing, and  finally  from  the  original,  fundamental 
form,  may  be  represented  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
be  capable  of  being  seen  through  and  capable  of 
being  seen  into. 

This  occupation  is  extremely  important  for  the 
insight  into  the  innermost  nature  of  the  develop- 
ment of  forms  and  solids  gained  by  it,  as  well  as 
for  the  impulse  to  creative  activity.  It  is  also  par- 
ticularly important  for  the  development  and  cul- 
tivation of  the  mind  by  the  anticipation  and  in- 
vestigation of  the  unity  of  all  that  is  formed  from 
and  through  life.  Hence  it  comes  that  the  chil- 
dren dearly  love  these  occupations. 

Three  remarks  may  be  here  permitted: 

First,  the  cutting  from  wood  of  all  kinds  of 
little  furnishings  for  house  and  household,  such 
as  ladders,  sleds,  sawhorses,  etc.,  is  connected 
with  the  splitting  of  the  sticks  from  flat  bits  of 
wood  and  tablets,  and  with  the  sharpening  of  the 
sticks. 

Second,  by  these  employments,  models,  solids, 
and  objects  can  be  made  for  other  children  and 
institutions.  Thus  results  a  means  of  industry  and 
support  and,  at  the  same  time,  of  education  and 
training  for  poorer  children.  This  fact  has  already 
been  mentioned  several  times. 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  339 

Third,  the  children  are  hereby  enabled  to  make 
little  presents  to  those  whom  they  love. 

The  combination  of  surfaces  forms  a  new  but 
natural  sequence  to  these  employments.  This 
combination  takes  place  first  of  all  with  paper  sur- 
faces, which,  by  creasing  and  folding,  form  solids, 
or  rather  the  outlines  or  superficies  of  solids — ^here 
boxes  of  the  most  different  kinds,  with  and  with- 
out covers,  there  equal-surfaced,  symmetrical 
bodies,  and  buildings.  This  creasing  and  folding 
is  used  particularly  with  a  later  occupation,  that  of 
cutting.  By  combining  surfaces  into  the  form  of 
symmetrical,  rectangular  solids,  all  cubical  sizes 
can  be  represented ;  for  example : 


0  iSi 


^^^^F(\ 


Of  course  the  way  of  fastening  the  sides  rises  like- 
wise from  the  easier  and  simpler  to  the  more  diffi- 
cult and  complex.  At  first  the  fastening  is  done 
by  simply  bending  the  material,  then  by  interlacing 
and  closing  together,  finally  by  gluing  or  pasting. 

As  this  occupation  advances  according  to  rule, 
it  also  is  entertaining,  enjoyable,  cultivating,  and 
instructive  for  the  child. 

With  this  occupation  are  connected  the  actual 
paper  work  and  the  work  with  pasteboard  for  older 


340  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

and  more  cultivated  children,  particularly  boys; 
and  the  remarks  which  were  made  above  in  respect 
to  children's  gifts  and  to  the  cultivating  effect  of 
these  means  of  industry  for  poorer  children  are 
therefore  also  of  value  here. 

A  further  new  and  large  division  of  the  em- 
ployments of  children,  as  entertaining  as  it  is  in- 
structive and  useful,  is  the  change  of  form: 

A.  Without  diminishing  the  quantity  of  the 
material,  and  here — 

a.  At  first  with  flexible  thread  lines — the  twin- 
ing into  cords  and  other  objects. 

h.  With  proportionately  connected  stick  lines, 
as,  for  example,  with  the  usual  inch  sticks.  Here 
especially  representations  of  the  different  angles 
and  figures  by  changes. 

c.  With  fiexible  surfaces,  such  as  paper,  by 
creasing  and  folding,  different  forms  and  objects 
are  made  with  one  and  the  same  square  surface,  or, 
what  is  the  same,  with  several  square  surfaces  of 
equal  size. 

d.  With  soft  flexible  material — ^wax,  loam,  or 
clay.     Modeling  is  included  in  this  occupation. 

B.  With  the  diminishing  of  the  quantity  of  the 
material : 

a.  Cutting  of  different  forms  of  beauty  from 
square  surfaces  of  like  size  according  to  fixed,  pre- 
cise law,  generally  the  law  of  bringing  out  the  visi- 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  341 

ble  and  that  which  can  be  made  visible  from  the 
invisible  or,  what  is  the  same,  from  the  hidden 
visible.     The  forms  are  here: 

1.  With  straight  lines. 

2.  With  curved  lines. 

3.  With  both  straight  and  curved  lines. 
6.  The  cutting  of  different  objects: 

1.  Free-hand  cutting  of  the  objects  of  the  house 
and  household,  natural  objects,  and  the  objects  of 
social  life. 

2.  The  cutting  out  of  already  depicted  objects 
— animals,  furniture,  people,  dresses,  soldiers,  the 
objects  of  trade,  landscapes. 

Here  takes  place  the  unfolding  of  the  whole 
human  department  of  social  life,  and  of  the  life  of 
ifature — morals,  good  behavior,  sensibility,  the 
right,  the  view  of  and  insight  into  life,  history ;  also, 
on  the  part  of  the  child,  the  use  of  all  the  unfolded 
powers  and  qualities  of  his  mind  as  well  as  his 
heart,  of  his  speech  as  well  as  the  activity  of  his 
body,  limbs,  and  senses. 

With  this  employment  and  play  the  busying  of 
the  children  for  this  stage  of  childlike  development 
terminates,  as  it  embraces  and  comprises  the  whole 
life  of  the  child  in  every  respect;  man  comes  into 
consideration  in  all  his  relations  to  God,  Nature, 
and  humanity. 

This  is  shown  by  the  extended  second  play- 
gift  or  "the  sphere  and  cube  with  the  solid 
24 


342  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

forms  derived  from  them  according  to  necessary 
laws.'' 

c.  The  change  of  solids  made  of  soft  material 
that  can  be  cut — for  example,  clay,  loam,  potatoes, 
turnips,  cabbage  stalks,  or  soft  wood — and  first  of 
all  the  change  of  the  cube  by  cutting  off  (1)  the 
corners,  (2)  the  edges.  Here  is  specially  re- 
vealed the  endeavor  of  the  child  to  perceive  the 
inner  in  the  outer,  to  represent  the  inner  by  the 
outer;  and,  in  reverse  order,  to  find  unity  in  mani- 
foldness  and  to  develop  manifoldness  from  unity. 
The  way  in  which  this  busying  of  the  children 
leads  to  the  higher  and  true  (religious)  comprehen- 
sion of  Nature  and  of  their  own  life  is  clearly  evi- 
dent. And  consequently  here  is  also  a  complete 
close. 

This  again  leads  us  back  to  the  consideration  of 
the  plays  with  the  solid  and  firm  round,  and  here, 
as  a  connecting  point  with  the  former,  first  of  all: 

A.  To  the  undivided  sphere  and  to  the  plays 
and  employments  with  the  sphere  in  different  sizes 
and  numbers. 

B.  To  the  divided  round.    First  of  all, 
a.   Spheres  are  divided: 

1.  Concentric  with  the  surface,  thus  giving 
half  spheres  and  spheres  within  others. 

2.  Parallel  to  one  of  the  largest  circles,  giving 
disks. 

3.  Through  the  three  largest  circles,  intersect- 


KINDERGAETEN  OCCUPATIONS.  343 

ing  eacli  other  at  right  angles,  tliiis  into  eiglit  equal 
four-surfaced  bodies. 

b.  The  cylinder  is  divided: 

1.  Concentric  with  the  cylindrical  surface,  thus 
into  cylinders  of  different  sizes. 

2.  Parallel  to  the  upper  and  lower  surfaces, 
thus  into  equal-sized  disks. 

3.  Through  the  two  largest  division  planes  in- 
tersecting each  other  at  right  angles,  thus  forming 
four  columnar  bodies,  the  sides  of  each  including 
two  plane  surfaces  and  one  curved. 

4.  Into  circles  or  rings  from  number  one. 

c.  The  cone  is  divided  again: 

1.  Concentric  with  the  curved  surface. 

2.  Parallel  to  the  base  into  disks. 

3.  Through  the  two  division  planes  cutting 
through  the  axis  at  right  angles. 

4.  According  to  the  conic  sections. 

Prom  the  connection  of  the  round  (thus  origi- 
nated) with  the  straight;  and — 

1.  Prom  the  outward  connection  of  the  round 
with  the  straight  proceed  the  building  and  laying 
forms,  and 

2.  Prom  the  inward  connection  of  both,  the 
roller,  the  wheel,  the  barrel,  the  wagon,  the  car- 
riage, etc. 

With  the  modeling  as  an  object  of  play  is, 
therefore,  connected 


344  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

I.  The  province  of  mechanics. 

II.  The  province  of  the  contemplation  of  Na- 
ture and  introduction  into  it. 

III.  The  province  of  human  and  social  life. 

But  the  round  also  finds  its  educating  applica- 
tion in  play  in  the  conception  and  connection  of 
planes  and  lines. 

From  all  this  now  proceeds  the  free  connection 
of  each  favorite  material  in  favorite  forms  in  the 
most  manifold  way  and  for  the  most  different  ob- 
jects of  play,  employment,  entertainment,  and  edu- 
cation, as  well  as  other  objects  (the  fostering  and 
observation  of  human  life  and  human  relations); 
for  instance,  for  gifts  of  friendship,  as  has  been  al- 
ready many  times  mentioned. 

With  these  is  further  connected,  as  an  educa- 
ting employment  for  play  and  entertainment,  first 
of  all  the  collecting  of  natural  productions  (pebbles, 
leaves,  flowers  of  the  most  different  colors  and 
forms)  to  which  the  child  so  early  inclines,  in  order 
by  this  collecting  to  exercise  his  power  of  observa- 
tion and  comparison,  as  well  as  to  extend  his  ob- 
jective knowledge,  but,  above  all,  to  procure  for 
himself  a  knowledge  of  the  objects  of  Nature. 

The  collecting  of  objects — the  flower,  the  plant, 
the  bug,  the  caterpillar,  etc. — leads  to  the  care  over 
them  for  growth  and  unfolding,  therefore  to  the 
fostering  of  life.     The  delightful  impulse  to  such 


KINDEEGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  345 

fostering  likewise  shows  itself  very  early  in  the 
child  as  soon  as  he  has  even  an  anticipation  and 
perception  of  it.  All  this  has  an  instructive  effect 
on  the  parents,  and  in  general  upon  all  who  exert 
an  educating  influence  on  the  child.  The  gardens 
of  the  children  belong  here  essentially. 

Lastly,  humanity,  in  the  shape  of  the  child, 
is  even  for  the  child  the  most  satisfactory  object 
of  play  and  the  most  enjoyable  playmate,  as 
through  the  child  all  expressions  of  human  life 
become  material  for  play,  and,  as  it  were,  the 
bringers  of  play.  From  this  fact  proceed  the 
voice  and  singing  plays,  the  word  and  speaking 
plays,  the  movement  and  representation  plays,  espe- 
cially the  representations  of  man  in  the  most  di- 
verse stages  of  development,  in  the  most  varied 
relations,  vocations,  businesses,  and  efficiencies. 
They  are  in  general,  therefore,  the  plays  of  observa- 
tion, comparison,  and  consequently  apperception; 
plays  for  the  exercise  of  thought,  for  the  fostering 
development  and  cultivation  of  the  reason,  the  in- 
tellect, the  head  and  heart,  manners,  and  mod- 
esty, as  well  as  of  morality  and  the  highest 
union  of  life — the  greatest  fostering  and  ob- 
servation of  life  in  all  relations.  For  the  child 
thus  represents,  by  and  by  means  of  himself, 
his  innermost  unconscious  life,  as  yet  unknown 
to  him.  He  absorbs  the  inner  and  innermost  of 
the  surrounding  joint  life.     He  mirrors  this  life  in 


346  EDUCATION  BY  DEVELOPMENT. 

himself,  he  compares  both  spheres  of  life,  finds 
what  is  common  to  both,  what  is  alike  and  what  is 
united  in  both.  He  thus  develops,  educates,  and 
forms  himself  for  true,  all-sided,  intimate  union  of 
life,  and  so  for  the  understanding  of  life,  for  in- 
sight into  life,  and  for  the  ruling  of  life  (as  far 
as  this  is  possible  at  the  child's  age  and  at  the  differ- 
ent stages  of  development).  This  is  the  actual  and 
highest  aim  of  this  play-whole,  of  this  means  and 
way  of  playing,  of  this  course  of  play.  As  a 
higher  spiritual  bond  passes  through  and  pervades 
the  whole,  so  the  child  in  the  plays  makes  the  dis- 
covery that  he  can  only  arrive  at  insight  into  and 
practice  of  this  united  and  constant  whole  through 
constant  connection.  In  these  three,  and  in  the 
presentiment  thereof  recognized  or  presupposed  in 
the  child,  lies  the  developing,  educating,  forming, 
high  effect  of  these  plays.  This  high  effect  lies  in 
the  still  deeply  slumbering,  yet  already  active  pre- 
sentiment in  the  child  that  only  the  transitory  and 
visible  can  by  connection  lead  to  the  becoming  ob- 
jective, to  the  becoming  visible,  and  consequently 
to  the  comprehension  of  the  single  and  invisible 
that  abides  in  itself,  therefore  to  the  solution  and 
perception  of  that  which  is  inward,  spiritual,  and 
directing. 

In  this  anticipation  the  child's  impulse  to  imi- 
tation, the  tendency  toward  and  the  power  of  repro- 
duction have  their  foundation  as  well  as  their  aim; 


KINDERGARTEN  OCCUPATIONS.  347 

and  in  this  anticipation  is  revealed  the  nature  of 
the  plays  and  ways  of  playing  here  presented. 

By  means  of  all  this  the  whole  life  of  I^ature 
and  of  man,  the  nature  of  all  things,  and  above 
all  that  of  man  (as  being  whole  and  single,  dissolv- 
ing all  opposition  and  contrariety,  and  consequently 
harmonized),  are  clearly  revealed  to  the  child  in 
the  mirror  of  his  plays. 


THE    END. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICM  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

1       This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 
on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


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General  Library  i 

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